The number of senior business roles held by women is 31% in 2017 in comparison to 26% last year.   

This is evidenced by the results of “Women in Business 2017: New perspectives on risk and reward” survey, released by Grant Thornton head of the International Women’s Day.

The surveyed Armenian businesses have also recorded improvement in diversity in management positions, with only 10% having no women in senior roles (as compared to 29% in 2016).

“We are proud of having an environment here in Grant Thornton Armenia, where equal approach is one of the fundamentals. In fact, 55% of managerial positions within the firm are currently held by women. Companies today need to be more productive, more innovative and in many ways more open, if they are to grow. It is important to understand that diversity will be the key to their success,” said Gagik Gyulbudaghyan, Managing Partner of Grant Thornton Armenia.

The report was based on Grant Thornton’s annual survey of 5,500 businesses in 36 economies, which reveals that the global proportion of senior business roles held by women has hit a high of 25%, which according to Grant Thornton, is the highest proportion, registered during the last years.

However, the findings show that progress remains slow. The global figure for 2017 is an increase of just 1% from 2016, and the proportion has only improved by 6% in the 13 years since the research began.

Grant Thornton’s data shows developing regions continue to lead the charge on diversity with developed economies lagging behind. Eastern Europe performed best, with 38% of senior roles held by women in 2017, up from 35% in 2016, and the percentage of businesses with no women in senior management falling from 16% in 2016 to just 9% in 2017.

The research reveals that the individual countries with the highest proportion of senior roles held by women are Russia (47%), Indonesia (46%), Estonia (40%), Poland (40%), Philippines (40%) and Armenia (31%).

The countries with the lowest proportion of senior roles held by women are Japan (7%), Argentina (15%), India (17%), Germany (18%), Brazil (19%) and the United Kingdom (19%).