Although organizations have placed increasing priority on driving diversity in recent years, women and minorities remain underrepresented in leadership roles globally.
Women and minorities continue to remain underrepresented in leadership positions globally.
Amid several years of intense public discussion about the state of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at work, many organizations made loud commitments to supporting DEI in their companies. Now, in the wake of several exhausting years of the pandemic and uncertain economic headwinds, many companies are on the brink of a serious backslide on DEI progress. Across the board, women and minority leaders are ready to leave their companies at significantly higher rates than men and non-minority peers. However, the research discovered a strong association between intent to leave and a lack of trust in their organization according to DDI’s DEI Report 2023.
Although organizations have placed increasing priority on driving diversity in recent years, women and minorities remain underrepresented in leadership roles globally. Since the last surveyed organizations in 2020, there is a small drop-off of women leaders in top-performing companies, from 30% in 2020 to 29% in this year’s study. In underperforming companies, there’s been a steeper drop of women leaders, from 27% to 23% as per DDI’s DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) Report 2023. These drops may represent the toll that the pandemic took on women leaders, which have not yet recovered.
One of the key drivers of increased diversity is high-potential pools. However, high-potential pools still tend to have a lower representation of women and minorities than their general leadership population. On average, only 14% of high-potential leaders are women and 11% are from minority backgrounds in low-performing organizations. By contrast, at companies that are top financial performers, women are 23% and minorities are 16% of high-potential pools, on average.
Overall, companies with greater gender and racial/ethnic diversity tend to outperform their peers financially. On the other hand, companies are gaining ground with ethnic and racial diversity, with numbers rising several percentage points since 2020. Some companies may be quietly shifting their attention away from DEI as other business challenges arise. However, companies that focus on succeeding in DEI are also more likely to see better business results.
Beyond the financial benefits, organizations that are developing more high-potential leaders from diverse backgrounds are also:
About DEI Report 2023: DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) 2023 Report is a series of DDI’s Global Leadership Forecast Report 2023 which is the longest-running global study of leadership aimed at understanding current and future leadership best practices. The report examines responses from 1,827 human resource professionals and 13,695 leaders from 1,556 organizations around the world. Around 274 Indian leaders from 36 organisations contributed to the study which spans to more than 50 countries and 24 major industry sectors, summarizes best talent practices and provides key trends to guide the future of leadership.
The data show few positive indicators since we last published our Diversity & Inclusion Report 2020. Indeed, there are several areas that show reversals of progress. However, among these findings are clear opportunities for success, and examples of how thriving companies have integrated DEI into the way they work for stronger overall business results.