Globally, women have become engines for economic growth. Achieving gender diversity in enterprises is of critical importance to improving business outcomes. However, women remain under represented in business, particularly at senior management levels. Women rarely attain executive management positions or serve as members of company boards. Yet, women have increasingly overtaken men in terms of tertiary education attainment. While much progress has been made, women remain underutilized despite representing a dynamic and capable pool of talent.

The Bureau for Employers’ Activities embarked on a global project to collect detailed, authoritative data and to provide a more granular perspective of women in business and management by taking into account the perspectives of small- and medium-sized enterprises. ACT/EMP has successfully leveraged the knowledge and insights of Employer and Business Membership Organizations (EBMOs) and companies to develop global, regional and national reports. Furthermore, ACT/EMP has gathered good practices and examples to promote better approaches to enhancing gender diversity in companies and EBMOs around the world.