As the year comes to a close, we take a critical look at the 2024 trends in women’s advancement to better understand what needs to be done in 2025 to keep the momentum going.
A big-picture look
Overall, gender equity in the professional setting did not see a lot of advancement in 2024, but there were a few wins for women in the workplace.
McKinsey & Company and Lean In’s 2024 Women in the Workplace report shows that 29 per cent of C-suite leaders are women, a jump from just 17 per cent back in 2015. And in the last decade, female representation has increased at every level. There is no denying that we’re making headway to gender parity, but at what speed?
According to the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global Gender Gap Report, in Canada, the gender gap is 76.1 per cent closed, 0.1 per cent less than last year. Canada also dropped six rankings, coming in at 36th in the Global Gender Gap Index 2024 rankings.
What do companies have to say?
Seventy-eight* per cent of companies say gender and racial diversity are high priorities; this is 10 per cent less than in 2017. Since 2022, formal mentorship programs focused on women have declined from 48 per cent to 37 per cent, and internship programs for women have dropped from 24 to 11 per cent.
There’s been an increase in DEI training for managers, but it’s not proving to be overly effective. Ninety-one per cent of companies offer management training to create respectful and inclusive environments (compared to 82 per cent in 2022). Still, only 54 per cent of employees say their managers actually encourage this type of behaviour.
Eighty-six per cent of companies offer bias training for employees and 60 per cent offer allyship training, but only 11 per cent of men recognize microaggressions against women.
According to the Deloitte Women @ Work 2024 report, 43 per cent of women say they experienced microaggressions or harassment (or both) in the past 12 months. This is one per cent less than in 2023.
What does this mean for 2025?
The needle is moving, but slowly. McKinsey & Company and Lean In estimate total gender parity is 50 years away.
It takes a collective effort to advance gender diversity, and as we head into the new year, Axis is committed to championing gender equity and helping drive change. We will continue to celebrate the advancements and positive actions being taken, and offer more opportunities through our events, programs and workshops, where women in business can connect, network and advance professionally.
Together, we can keep opening more doors for women on our journey to gender parity.
Keep an eye out for Axis Connect’s 2024 numbers on women in the workplace coming soon. Stay up to date with what’s happening in women’s advancement and become an Axis member today.
*All statistics have been pulled from McKinsey & Company and Lean In’s 2024 Women in the Workplace report (focused on women in corporate America) unless otherwise stated.