With women accounting for just 16 per cent of executive boards across the industry, a recent survey by EY has found that only 12 per cent of leaders in FMCG and retail expect to see significant progress for women in leadership roles over the next five years.
The 'Navigating disruption without gender diversity? Think again' is the result of a survey of 350 executives across 51 countries and seven industries, and EY says it highlights a striking disconnect when it comes to gender equality across the consumer products and retail sector.
The survey found that 84 per cent of the executives surveyed say they could do more to attract, retain and promote women, while only 52 per cent formally measure progress on improving gender diversity on their leadership teams.
Kristina Rogers, EY’s Global Consumer Products & Retail Leader, commented, "The survey reaffirms the urgency to respond to the World Economic Forum’s prediction that it will take 117 years to reach gender parity.
"Consumer products and retail companies need to address the glaring mismatch between the critical value that gender diversity brings to business, and the action they are taking to make real strides toward gender parity. If companies aren’t measuring progress, it is far more difficult to identify what needs to change."
The report also reveals a disconnect between how men and women view gender issues; 27 per cent of female respondents agree that there is an organizational bias against women, compared with only 10 per cent of male respondents.
On the other hand, 40 per cent of men are concerned that there is a shortfall in female candidates for senior leadership positions, while only 11 per cent of women agree that there is.
However, both men and women agree that he best way to address gender imbalance is to engender a corporate culture that supports and promotes gender diversity and inclusiveness, and that a lack of female role models is the biggest barrier to progress.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Jenny Whelan. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
