Companies based in Switzerland are hiring increasing numbers of women, at every level. In turn, this builds up a pipeline of highly qualified, highly talented female employees. Women and men also leave their jobs at the same rate, showing that companies’ cultures are becoming more appealing to women looking to develop their careers. However, this growing potential is not being used systematically enough across every level in the corporate hierarchy. While there are equal numbers of men and women in non-managerial positions, the proportion of women in middle-management slumps to 23%, sinking even further to 18% for the top management levels.

Improving on promotions is the key lever
Women are particularly losing out in terms of internal promotions with around 65% of all promotions going to men. The study believes that the key to achieving greater gender diversity up to the very top of the corporate ladder lies in transparent promotion processes: Unconscious bias should have as little influence as possible. The authors also highlight positive examples, revealing that women hold a good deal more than 30% of managerial positions at companies with the best results.

Cultural part-time patterns pose barriers to the careers of Swiss women
The study identifies another issue getting in the way of smashing the glass ceiling: the distribution of
‘traditional gender roles’ in conjunction with the yet unchallenged norm relating to full-time work in management. Data clearly shows that Swiss women, on average, have the lowest work rates. What does this actually mean in practice? Given the current full-time (or near full-time) norm for managerial positions, it is critical that women be able to increase their work rates, such as with flexible working models, so that they will be considered for management roles. At the same time, men should be encouraged to take on their share of responsibilities outside the workplace, and conditions must be put in place to enable them to do so. After all, equality can only work if men and women contribute to it equally.

Key recommendations of the report
According to the study, Advance member companies appear to offer conditions that are more favorable for women’s career advancement, being better at building up a pipeline of talented women, for example. Furthermore, there is less difference in the average work rates of women and men compared to companies not involved with Advance.

It is important to make existing promotion processes more transparent and ensure that decisions regarding promotion are not exclusively dependent on a person’s direct superior. Clear objectives, evaluated at regular intervals, are important in this regard. In addition, managers must actively assist talented female employees to attain greater visibility and attract more attention. They should also hold career-related discussions with them on a regular basis.

Prof. Dr. Gudrun Sander, Head of the Competence Centre for Diversity & Inclusion at the University of St. Gallen

Organizations that are successful in terms of gender diversity have adapted their corporate culture, processes and structures to promote women’s career development. We want to accelerate this learning curve across Switzerland. In addition, Advance offers targeted skill building, mentoring and networking opportunities to support talented women as they climb the career ladder up to the top

Alkistis Petropaki, General Manager Advance

Download the report here.

Four positive examples, as used in practice by Advance member companies: