Survey says firms’ gender equity goals not being met

Despite research that demonstrates the bottom-line benefits of gender equity, employers' efforts to meet gender diversity goals in talent acquisition and succession planning are falling short, according to an online survey by The Executive Search Group LLC.

Approximately 80 percent of the 600 respondents to the "Women in Leadership Roles 2010 Survey” reported their employers view a gender-diverse talent pool as an advantage, and nearly that many (78 percent) ranked their current employer as either a good or excellent gender-diverse workplace compared to other places they have worked.

Nearly half of the female executives surveyed, however, said a lack of advancement opportunities had driven them to consider leaving their jobs. The two most common reasons: Women felt their contributions were not being valued, and they believed they were being excluded from informal executive networks.

"Striving for a level playing field requires effort,” the Executive Search Group's report concluded. "Someone must actively mange an executive search to ensure that female executives are adequately represented in the pool of candidates to be interviewed. If only one woman is among a half dozen or more to be interviewed, that's not a level playing field.”