When It Comes to Women in Management, U.S. Doesn't Lead

U.S. businesses aren't doing very well at putting women in leadership roles, new research shows.

Out of the 45 countries examined, the United States ranks in the bottom 10 for the percentage of women in senior management positions, with women occupying just 22 percent of senior roles, a study from the Grant Thornton International Business Report found. Although that represents a slight increase from last year's 20 percent, it's well behind countries such as Russia, Indonesia, Latvia and the Philippines, all of which have more than 40 percent of women in such positions.

"It's no longer feasible for U.S. businesses to adopt a sit-and-wait policy when it comes to promoting women to senior management roles, particularly when so many other nations — developed and emerging — are more rapidly realizing the benefits of diverse senior leadership," said Erica O'Malley, Grant Thornton's national managing partner of diversity and inclusion. [14 Leaders Share Best Leadership Advice]

Here are this year's complete rankings:

  1. Russia – 43 percent
  2. Indonesia – 41 percent (tie)
  3. Latvia – 41 percent (tie)
  4. Philippines – 40 percent
  5. Lithuania – 39 percent
  6. China (mainland) – 38 percent
  7. Thailand – 38 percent
  8. Estonia – 37 percent
  9. Armenia – 35 percent
  10. Georgia – 35 percent
  11. Peru – 35 percent
  12. Poland – 34 percent
  13. Hong Kong – 33 percent
  14. Botswana – 32 percent
  15. New Zealand – 31 percent
  16. Belgium – 30 percent
  17. Chile – 30 percent
  18. Italy – 30 percent
  19. Finland – 29 percent
  20. Greece – 29 percent
  21. Mexico – 28 percent
  22. South Africa – 26 percent
  23. Sweden – 26 percent
  24. Taiwan – 26 percent
  25. Vietnam – 26 percent
  26. Argentina – 25 percent
  27. Malaysia – 25 percent
  28. Turkey – 25 percent
  29. France – 24 percent
  30. Norway – 24 percent
  31. Canada – 23 percent
  32. Ireland – 23 percent
  33. Singapore – 23 percent
  34. Australia – 22 percent
  35. Brazil – 22 percent
  36. Spain – 22 percent
  37. United States – 22 percent
  38. United Kingdom – 20 percent
  39. Denmark – 14 percent
  40. Germany – 14 percent
  41. India – 14 percent
  42. United Aram Emirates – 14 percent
  43. Switzerland – 13 percent
  44. Netherlands – 10 percent
  45. Japan – 9 percent

Part of the reason for the U.S.' low ranking is that many companies aren't hiring nearly as many women recent college graduates: 20 percent of U.S. businesses said less than 10 percent of their new graduate hires are women, the study found.

Moreover, the vast majority of organizations worldwide aren't taking the time to train women for leadership roles. Only 11 percent of businesses globally have a program to support and mentor women, with 70 percent of companies not even considering starting such programs.

The study was based on surveys of 6,700 business leaders in 45 countries.

Originally published on Business News Daily.