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.