The International Labour Organization published “Women in business and management: Scaling success” on November 3, 2026. It finds that women hold 30.5% of managerial positions worldwide. The report matters to business because it links women’s leadership to company results, and because it shows that fewer companies are carrying out the gender equality programs they have adopted. The W20 USA Presidency, which advises G20 governments this year, has made measurable targets a theme of its 2026 policy briefs.
What the ILO found
The report draws on a 2025 ILO survey of 11,957 enterprises in 99 countries, along with earlier surveys in 2013 and 2018. Between 2013 and 2025, the share of surveyed companies with a woman CEO rose from 23.4% to 28.2%, according to the executive summary. The share with a woman board chair rose from 13.1% to 30.9%. The share of boards with at least 30% women rose from 38.3% to 45.5%.
The gains were uneven across levels. Since 2013, women’s share rose 5.0 percentage points in top management and 1.6 points in senior management. It fell 6.4 points in middle management and 1.4 points in junior management.
The executive summary reports that 68.5% of enterprises saw business gains from gender equality initiatives, up 11.1 points from 2018. Of the enterprises that reported higher profits, 87.4% recorded gains of at least 5% linked to initiatives promoting women in management.
A gap between policy and practice
Nearly three-quarters of enterprises (74.8%) had a gender equality and diversity policy in 2025. But the share implementing initiatives fell from 37.4% in 2018 to 26.5% in 2025. ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo said: “The priority now is to turn policies and commitments into concrete, measurable progress.”
The ILO’s suggestions for companies include stronger leadership pipelines, gender metrics and voluntary targets, and building gender equality into business strategy and accountability frameworks. For governments, it points to child care, family-friendly policies and effective gender equality legislation. Maria Paz Anzorreguy, director of the ILO Bureau for Employers’ Activities, said: “At a time when enterprises are competing for skills and talent, leaving women’s potential untapped makes little business sense.”
Where the W20 agenda connects
The W20’s 2026 briefs ask G20 governments for commitments that can be counted. Its entrepreneurship brief calls for a common standard tracked by twelve “master metrics.” Its decent work brief asks the G20 to close gender gaps in labor force participation and pay, with a target to reduce both gaps by 35% by 2035. The ILO survey adds enterprise-level data that companies and governments can use alongside those national measures.
Sources
- Businesses report growing benefits from gender equality (ILO, November 3, 2026)
- Women in business and management: Scaling success (ILO)
- Women in business and management: Scaling success, executive summary (ILO)
- W20 Advocacy Brief: Entrepreneurship (W20 USA Presidency)
- W20 Advocacy Brief: Decent Work (W20 USA Presidency)
- Gender equality pays off for business (UN News, November 3, 2026)
