En Français

Women represent about 50% of the world’s population.¹ Their contributions to the global economy are significant: countries with at least half of their population of women participating in the labor force contribute 62% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP).² Yet women’s representation in business leadership remains staggeringly low. Only about 6% of Fortune Global 500 companies are run by women CEOs, and women hold less than one quarter (23%) of board seats across the world.³ For women from marginalized racial and ethnic groups, the numbers are even more dismal.⁴ We have to change that. Because progress for women is progress for everyone. That’s why on International Women’s Day 2017, we launched Catalyst CEO Champions For Change.

Today, our group includes a growing community of more than 80 high-profile CEOs whose companies represent more than 11 million employees and over $3 trillion in revenue globally.⁵ These leaders are drawing a line in the sand and publicly pledging to advance more women, particularly women from marginalized racial and ethnic groups, into senior leadership positions and onto their boards.

A key differentiator of the Catalyst CEO Champions For Change movement is that signatories share data related to equitable practices and outcomes with Catalyst, so that collective progress can be tracked, analyzed and reported. This allows other organizations to learn from and be inspired by their progress. In addition, Catalyst is committed to partnering with the Catalyst CEO Champions For Change companies, providing opportunities for this community to connect and convene, and leveraging Catalyst’s thought leadership and tangible solutions to accelerate change.

Affirmation of Support

We hold firm in the power of diversity, equity, and inclusion. As business leaders we know that making room for everyone to succeed at work is not only the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing. It improves innovation and employee retention, boosts corporate performance, and energizes engagement of all individuals from the front line to the C-suite.⁶

Progress has been made, but there is still much to do. Women, particularly women from marginalized racial and ethnic groups, are underrepresented in senior levels of management and on boards. It’s time for more rapid change and that requires taking a bold stand.

As senior leaders, we hold ourselves and our teams accountable to make change happen and accelerate diversity, inclusion, and equity of opportunity within our organizations. We won’t rest until we can all succeed together.

To that end, we commit to strengthening the metrics, policies, and practices across our organizations toward fair and equitable outcomes. We commit to reviewing and improving the pipeline of women of marginalized backgrounds for advancement and empowering them with a strong support system. We commit to identifying and working to reduce any structural barriers or unconscious bias that may exist and to doing everything we can to continue to build an inclusive workplace culture.

We will drive these actions with Catalyst, a global thought leader and partner in advancing women through workplace inclusion for 60+ years. And, in partnership with Catalyst, we will publicly report on our collective progress, so we can continue to learn, improve, and accelerate change and inclusive prosperity for everyone.

Organizational Commitment

On behalf of my organization, I will work to:

• Maintain (where strong) or accelerate the representation of women, particularly women from marginalized racial and ethnic groups, in executive/senior level positions and on the company’s Board of Directors (or equivalent).
• Strengthen the pipeline of women through an annual review of internal diagnostics and leverage leading practices to address any identified issues.
• Benchmark and track inclusion and improve the culture of inclusion within my organization.
• Share key representation metrics with Catalyst for benchmarking and for anonymized reporting of our collective aggregate progress.

Personal Commitment

As a leader, I personally commit to:

• Actively sponsor women, particularly women identifying with marginalized racial and ethnic groups.
• Role model positive change internally and externally through my words and actions.
• Drive and embed inclusivity as part of my organization’s culture, helping to empower women in their careers.
• Visibly hold myself and the leaders in my organization accountable for progress.

Criteria to Join

Beginning in 2019, Catalyst expanded the criteria to join this community, reflecting the caliber of the Catalyst CEO Champions For Change and to encourage all organizations to set high standards for the representation of women, particularly women identifying with marginalized racial and ethnic groups, in leadership.

To join this community:

• The company must be a Catalyst Supporter.
• The signatory must be the global CEO or Chair of the company.
• The company must meet the following representation criteria:
  • At least 2 women on the board (or board equivalent for professional services and law firms).
  • At least 2 women on the executive team reporting to the CEO.
  • At least 1 woman (of the 4) from a marginalized racial or ethnic group.
• The company must commit to submitting representation data in support of an annual report highlighting the progress of the Champions community.

Learn more.

1. Population, female (% of total population) [Data set]. (2023). The World Bank.
2. Empowering women: How COVID-19 has affected the gender gap. (2021). Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
3. Hinchliffe, E. & Ajemian, N. (2024, August 5). The share of women running Global 500 companies falls to just 5.6%. Fortune; Women in the boardroom, eighth edition. (2024). Deloitte.
4. For example, women of color in the United States hold 8% of board seats in the Fortune 500. Missing pieces report: A board diversity census of women and underrepresented racial and ethnic groups on Fortune 500 boards, 7th edition. (2023). Alliance for Board Diversity and Deloitte
5. Catalyst analysis of Catalyst CEO Champions For Change companies.
6. Why diversity and inclusion matter: Quick Take. (2020). Catalyst; The business case for DEI: Ask Catalyst Express. (2023). Catalyst.