Women Hold 43% Of Senior HR Roles Globally, Grant Thornton Report Shows

The Women in Business 2026 report by Grant Thornton shows women account for 43% of senior roles in human resources (HR) in mid-market firms. The report found that women hold 39% of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) positions and 29.7% of Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) roles.

According to the report, 92.7% of mid-market companies have diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programmes in place. Around 75.8% said they continue to support gender equality initiatives, while 36.8% plan to introduce new measures. The report said 73% of companies that plan new gender equality measures recorded revenue growth of more than 5% in 2025. About 56.2% expanded their workforce by more than 5%, while 48.8% reported export growth above 5%.

Women hold 32.9% of senior management roles in 2026, compared with 34% in 2025. The share of women in chief executive roles rose to 23.8%.