Women’s representation in corporate leadership stagnates, according to Equileap’s Gender Equality Report and Ranking

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After nearly a decade of tracking corporate gender equality, Equileap’s 10th Global Report concludes that women’s representation in leadership remains largely stagnant.

The United States continues its declining trend in gender equality performance. Despite representing nearly half of the dataset, only seven companies made the Top 100.

Asia-Pacific and Europe have made historic gains in pay gap disclosure, driven by mandatory reporting requirements introduced across both regions.

Equileap, the leading global provider of gender equality data, was acquired by Denominator in 2025, bringing its expertise into a broader human capital data framework covering more than 10 million companies worldwide.

Since its founding, Equileap has built the world’s most comprehensive dataset on corporate gender equality. Over the past decade, its annual Global Gender Equality Report and Ranking has become the authoritative benchmark for measuring how companies perform on gender balance, pay equality, parental leave policies, and anti-harassment commitments.

Equileap’s methodology is widely recognized by investors, international organizations and policymakers. Its data is used by prominent asset managers and pension funds and its framework has been acknowledged by organizations such as UN Women. Today, Equileap’s data underpins more than USD 10 billion in investment products, reflecting its growing role in responsible investment decisions.

The latest edition is already receiving global media coverage across six markets, including Forbes, Bloomberg News, Responsible Investor, The Banker, Sustainable Views, El País, BFM, Les Echos and Nordsip among others.

The latest report evaluates nearly 3,500 public companies across 24 developed markets.

While women’s representation in leadership has stalled, with increases limited to 1 to 2 percentage points over the past three years, a clear turning point is emerging in pay transparency.

Key global highlights

Women’s representation across leadership remains largely stagnant. Women account for only 7% of CEO positions, a figure unchanged for three years, and just 23% of executive roles, only one percentage point higher than in 2024.

Gender pay gap disclosure improves. Disclosure rates have risen consistently: from 15% in 2021 to 44% in 2025 and 48% in 2026. This shift is being driven by new and strengthened legislation, especially in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

More companies are closing the gender pay gap. The number rose from 36 in 2025 to 57 in 2026, an increase of nearly 60%.

Diana van Maasdijk, CEO of Equileap and Chief Commercial Officer of Denominator, commented:

“Equileap’s latest findings paint a mixed picture — and not a very encouraging one. While gender pay gap disclosure has tripled in the past three years, this progress has been driven largely by legislation rather than voluntary action. At the same time, women’s representation in leadership shows no meaningful improvement. The contrast is striking: when companies are required to act, they do. But when progress depends on initiative, change remains far too slow.”

Key regional and country highlights:

The United States continues to fall behind. Despite representing nearly half of the dataset, only seven US companies made the Top 100, down from 15 in 2024 and 11 in 2025. Pay gap disclosure stands at just 15%, the lowest of any market, down 2 percentage points this year.

Asia-Pacific has undergone a near-complete reversal in gender pay transparency. In 2022, 91% of companies in the region did not disclose gender pay data. By 2026, over 80% now publish it, making Asia-Pacific the most transparent region globally.

Europe recorded the largest year-on-year increase in pay gap disclosure. The share of companies publishing pay gap data jumped from 59% in 2025 to 74% in 2026, driven largely by the EU Pay Transparency Directive's 2026 implementation deadline.

Diana van Maasdijk, CEO of Equileap & CCO of Denominator, commented:

“The US is slipping fast. Only seven companies made the Top 100 this year, and gender pay gap disclosure has dropped to 15%, the lowest of any market. As companies retreat from diversity, equity and inclusion, the loss of transparency is unmistakable.”

This report highlights both progress and growing divergence. While stronger regulation is accelerating transparency and performance in some markets, gender balance in corporate leadership remains out of reach globally. As the bar for leadership continues to rise, companies that fail to keep pace risk falling behind in competitiveness, governance and access to talent.

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