to develop and promote strategies that transform corporate culture and ensure opportunity for all, by fostering inclusive leadership and advancing individuals of all races, cultures, and backgrounds into positions of shared power and influence.
The Paradigm for Parity® coalition brings together current and former business leaders—including senior executives and industry experts—who are committed to expanding access to leadership opportunities and fostering inclusive cultures across the corporate sector.
Women’s representation among C-suite positions declined in 2023, the first year the representation declined in two decades.
Women represent 50.8% of the United States population. But they currently hold just 6% of CEO positions at S&P 500 companies.
The 2023 global gender gap score stands at 68.4%. That means it will take 131 years to reach full parity.
The gap in representation is even wider for multicultural women, who make up 18% of entry level professionals, 7% of VPs and only 6% of C-Suite executives.
Companies that hire, retain, and promote women, support them in leadership roles, and seed gender parity throughout their ecosystems, do better in the market. They’re more profitable, competitive, and successful (Just Capital).
Companies with more than 30% women executives are more likely to outperform companies with smaller representations of women leaders (MCKINSEY)
Companies with more diverse management earned 38% more of their revenues, on average, from innovative products and services than companies with less diversity in management roles (CATALYST)
There is a positive correlation between increased gender diversity in leadership positions and greater returns on capital (CREDIT SUISSE)
Companies in the top quartile for executive team gender diversity are 25% more likely to have above-average profitability than companies in the bottom quartile (LEAN IN & MCKINSEY 2020)
Paradigm for Parity’s approach to advancing opportunity for all is grounded in proven strategies from the corporate world. Guided by clear principles and a powerful 5-Point Action Plan, we provide our coalition members with a practical path to achieving workplace parity.
Implement inclusive leadership and bias-awareness training. Engage employees of all genders and backgrounds at every level—starting with the CEO and senior leadership. Ensure that leaders understand, take responsibility for, and actively address the conscious and unconscious biases that hinder advancement and an inclusive workplace culture
Set bold, aspirational goals and track progress to hold yourself and your senior team accountable. Focus on transparency by communicating results to your organization and board, with the aim of achieving parity within 15 years. Paradigm for Parity® provides tools to help measure and monitor progress in representation—not to mandate hiring targets, but to support meaningful change. Share your progress with peers and consider publishing results over time to inspire broader action.
Provide flexibility in where and how people work, whenever practical—recognizing that inclusive, flexible work environments benefit everyone. Acknowledge and support the diverse needs, life stages, and expectations of today’s multigenerational workforce. Foster a culture where flexibility is not just available, but truly valued and embraced as a driver of engagement, inclusion, and performance
While talent and hard work are crucial to success, they aren’t always sufficient—biases continue to shape how performance and potential are evaluated. To foster more inclusive workplaces, key talent , regardless of background, needs access to sponsorship and influential networks. Senior leaders and C-suite decision-makers play a pivotal role in opening doors—within their teams, across organizations, and throughout the business world. It’s essential to prioritize recognizing, supporting, and advancing high-potential talent that might otherwise be overlooked.
