Catalyst, a nonprofit working to advance women in business, in March kicked off an initiative aiming to increase the number of women in leadership roles. Participating companies signed on to a pledge, committing to the advancement of women into leadership roles. And participating companies also have 38.4% of their first-tier and mid-level positions filled by women, relative to the S&P 500’s 36.9%. If S&P 500 companies were to improve the percentage of women in leadership positions by a mere 1%, the result would be a whopping 12,000 more women in leadership roles, according to the Catalyst analysis. “Part of that is to inspire other leaders.”Representation of women in leadership roles across industries is not a new issue.

Source: Forbes November 16, 2017 19:07 UTC