By Business & Finance 
According to research released by global communications and engagement firm Weber Shandwick, nearly three-quarters of global senior executives believe that by 2030 women will occupy the top ranks of most large global companies in numbers equal to that of men.
However, most global C-Level executives (56 per cent) report that their organisations have not adopted formal goals that might turn this expectation into a reality and just four in 10 (39 per cent) identify gender diversity in senior management as a high business priority, ranking seventh among 10 priorities.
In the absence of such proactive steps, women appear to be developing ‘gender pipeline fatigue’ and have come to believe that only through compulsory measures such as governmental mandates on equal pay will parity result any time soon.
“Our ground-breaking report identifies a paradox along the road to C-Suite gender equality by 2030. Several factors are simultaneously pushing gender equality forward and pulling it back. Companies need to prepare now to accept women into their senior ranks and take action to support their view of the future,” says Gail Heimann, president of Weber Shandwick. “This global survey of decision-makers gives rise to a palpable sense of urgency for action now if we are to achieve gender parity at the upper rungs of management within this century.”
The study, Gender Equality in the Executive Ranks: A Paradox — The Journey to 2030, was sponsored by Weber Shandwick and KRC Research and conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in 2015.
It is based on an online survey of 327 senior executives across 55 countries in North America, EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, Africa), APAC (Asia Pacific) and Latin America. Half of the full sample includes an exclusive segment of C-Level executives including CEOs. Weber Shandwick purposefully designed the study to oversample C-Level members to reflect the perspectives of those who can directly influence change.
