gender intelligence
report (GIR)

This year’s edition is dedicated to the focus topic “Skilled labor supply, new work, and gender equity: a potential win-win”. In the 7th edition, we are exploring the potentials of a gender-equal set-up in the way we live and work to contribute to solving the challenges of today. Our 2023 study is based on analyzing close to 400,000 anonymized employees’ HR data, more than 147,000 in management positions, from over 100 Swiss companies and organizations. This is a unique data set in quantity and quality, corresponding to 7.6% of the Swiss workforce.

Explore how renovating outlived norms to create gender equity can contribute to economic growth and a robust domestic talent pool.
Full Report 2023 Executive Report 2023 (PDF) Best Practices

For the first time, the Gender Intelligence Report 2022 (GIR) focuses on an industry comparison revealing striking differences. The results are based on the analysis of 385,000 anonymized employees‘ HR data from 104 Swiss-based companies and organizations – a unique data set in terms of quality and quantity, corresponding to more than 7% of the Swiss workforce. Insights are followed by concrete recommendations and new best practices from Advance member companies.

Find out how thick (or thin) the glass ceiling is in your industry!

Full Report 2022 Executive Report 2022 (PDF) Best Practices

In this year’s analysis of 320’000 employees from 90 companies, it becomes evident that in order to accelerate achieving gender equality we have to change the rules of the game. We need to stop trying to make the women fit into the current system. Rather, we must consciously make the systemic changes required for all genders to feel included. And we need courageous leaders who will manage the journey to inclusivity like a business, by setting objectives, monitoring, and holding their managers accountable.
 
In this sense, the report outlines a novel and actionable path to unlock the power of diversity and make Swiss business future-proof. Curious? We wish you an insightful and inspiring read. 

Full Report 2021 Executive Report 2021 (PDF) Best Practices

Only 18% of top managers are women – the glass ceiling remains stubbornly in place

And to make things worse, women are still less likely to be promoted than men. This is partially because most promotions happen exactly when women lower their employment rates due to childcare responsibilities. Fulltime is clearly still the king but there’s hope too.

Our newly launched Gender Maturity Compass maps companies across four stages of their journey towards gender equality in business and shows that some companies have cracked the glass ceiling… And with the baby boomers leaving the workplace soon, there’s a unique opportunity to turn the currently meagre 18% to 50%. Read how here:

Report 2020 Best Practices

Participating companies: 75
Employee raw data sample: 302,000

Around 65% of all promotions in Switzerland go to men

The research is clear: the key lever to increasing the number of women in top management lies with promotions. While companies have made meaningful progress in hiring and retaining female talent, the same unfortunately cannot be said for promotions.

Traditional gender roles combined with full time work culture hold women back. Not surprisingly, Swiss women have the lowest employment percentages. The good news: Despite the challenges, companies are making the most out of their diverse applications, particularly when it comes to management. Read about fair promotion practices here:

Report 2019 Best Practices

Participating companies: 55
Employee raw data sample: 263,000

15% women in top management – encouraging trends in hiring and retention

A look into the overall status quo in Switzerland is a wake-up call. Far too many highly educated and skilled women are still lost on the way to the top: the proportion of women in top management is just 15%.

The overall conclusion from the study is that we see signs of improvement in the external hiring process with positive pipeline effects, and challenges in the internal promotion of female talent. A new and encouraging trend shows that companies are improving in retaining female talent in the total workforce as well as in management. Additionally, companies in our sample have reached the threshold figure of 30% at the first two management levels.
Find more insights here:

Report 2018

Participating companies: 50
Employee raw data sample: 238,700

Advance & HSG launch a new gender equality report in Switzerland

What gets measured, gets done. Advance & HSG launch a new yearly report with the aim of creating transparency in the progress made to achieve gender equality in Swiss business. The report looks at three key areas: hiring, promotion and retention and offers recommendations based on the results, so that together we can close the gender gap faster.

First insights are in: average proportion of women in business is 38.7%. Whereas the average gender ratio among non-managerial employees is nearly 50:50, the higher the hierarchical level, the less women we see. On the bright side, the companies receive enough applications from women to increase the firm’s percentage of female managers and on average 43.7% of the new hires are women. But there’s a huge downside as well. Read about it here.

Report 2017

Participating companies: 24
Employee raw data sample: 127,000