The European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT) published today updated voluntary targets for women in leadership positions set by 30 of its Member companies, together with figures on their progress towards achieving these targets.

Today’s report shows that the share of women both in the total workforce and in leadership positions has increased. Moreover a year-on-year progress can be seen for most companies involved. Compared to last year the average share of women in leadership positions has increased by about 1 percentage point. The increase of the number of women in leadership positions compared to a chosen baseline is on average higher (around 3.5 percentage points) than the increase of the share of women in the total workforce.

This indicates that more women are finding their way to leadership positions, and that companies monitoring these figures are progressing. Each participating ERT Member company has set a voluntary target that is appropriate to its own situation. Findings show there are large variations between industrial sectors and country cultures. Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, Chairman of the Executive Committee and CEO at Solvay, and Chairman of ERT’s Societal Changes Working Group commented: “More women are gradually finding their way in leadership positions.

The progress seen compared to last year is encouraging but still more can be done to include women and promote diversity in management and in executive roles. Our yearly updates challenge us to reconsider our targets and to improve, while in making our efforts public, we raise women’s awareness that companies are committed to recruiting and developing them in leadership positions.”