The first edition of this report was published in the summer of 2022, and it laid out some disturbing data. Examining 21 of the largest Danish companies and the practices they deploy to attract, develop, retain, and promote female talent left a lot to be desired. Tracking the six managerial levels below the CEO, we observed a gradual decline from the sixth level, where women comprised 30%, to the first level, where it was 21%. The share of women CEOs was 8%, while the chair level, at 6%, exhibited the most significant gender gap in Danish leadership teams. These numbers clearly helped to illustrate the challenge before us as a society: we were not fully harnessing the potential of women, we were indisputably missing out on the effectiveness, innovation, and well-being that comes with diversity, and we clearly fell short of the level of fairness we often credit ourselves with in Denmark. In recent years, New Zealand and our four Nordic neighbors (Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) have consistently ranked in the top five positions on the World Economic Forum Gender Gap Index. With our current ranking at number 23, Denmark sticks out like a sore thumb.

Read more at: https://www.egonzehnder.com/functions/diversity-equity-inclusion/insights/female-force-2025-leveraging-female-leadership