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Diversity in all its forms benefits businesses, driving innovation, fresh perspectives, and new growth opportunities. In today’s fast-paced global market, a broad range of viewpoints helps businesses better analyse challenges and adapt to change. Likewise, diversity is essential for attracting both top talent and clients.

Grant Thornton’s latest report, "Pathways to Parity: 20 Years of Women in Business Insights ", marks two decades of dedicated research aimed at monitoring and measuring the representation of women in senior management roles within mid-market companies worldwide.

On International Women's Day (IWD), we celebrate the achievements of women and recognise the work that still needs to be done to promote gender equality. The theme for this year's IWD, "Embrace Equity," emphasises the importance of challenging gender biases and stereotypes to promote gender equality, and to start talking about why equal opportunities are not enough.

International Women’s Day 2022 is perhaps the most significant time to reflect on the monumental impact this pandemic has had on our work culture, and the speed at which previous norms have been turned on their head.

In 2022, Grant Thornton’s Women in Business research has once again tracked the position of women in senior management across the world, and the progress towards gender parity in leadership.

The number of women holding senior leadership positions in mid-market businesses globally has hit 31% despite the COVID-19 pandemic affecting economies around the world, according to Grant Thornton’s annual Women in Business report.

Women are winning more leadership roles – but progress is patchy and the Asia Pacific region is lagging behind the rest.

Gender diversity in business leadership is a no-lose proposition, yet progress is still slow. Grant Thornton International has been surveying thousands of businesses annually since 2004 about the levels of gender diversity in leadership roles globally.

Globally, the percentage of businesses with at least one woman in senior management has risen to 87%, an increase of 12% in the last year, according to our latest Women in Business research from Grant Thornton International.

The slow pace of change in gender diversity at a leadership level indicates there needs to be a shift in NZ’s business culture.

In this year’s report Women in Business: Whilst businesses globally have taken one step forward and one step back on women in leadership, New Zealand has taken two firm steps back.