This report starts by looking at education, an essential building block of any career. We find some positive news here, with female participation in education soaring in many economies over recent years, particularly emerging markets, which have traditionally lagged behind. In fact, we have now reached a point where there are more women studying in tertiary education than men, although whether the subjects they are studying prepare themappropriately for jobs in senior management is debatable.
The figures gathered this year around the gender of graduates being hired by businesses add a further layer of complexity to this discussion; just 21% of the typical global graduate intake are women. The IBR surveys neither large corporates nor public sector organisations, both of which tend to hire more females at graduate level, but the results are nevertheless surprising. They suggest that mid-market businesses are closing themselves off to a huge swathe of potential workers – talent which numerous studies suggests would help them grow faster.
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Do you think gender equality in the workplace can ever be achieved? Do you agree with Grant Thornton's views on what can be done to better promote women in business? Use the comments section below to share your thoughts.
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