Catalyst CEO Champions For Change Advance Women, Pay Equity (Media Release)

Report shows Champions For Change companies outpace peers on representation and tracking pay equity

New York, New York, January 12, 2023— Catalyst CEO Champions For Change continue to advance women in their organizations at every level across the leadership pipeline, particularly in the executive ranks—demonstrating their commitment to doubling down on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the midst of evolving workplaces and an uncertain economy.

According to the newly released Aligning Actions to Values: Catalyst CEO Champions For Change report, women represent 28% of executives at Champion companies, compared to 23% among their global peers.

These companies are led by more than 70 CEOs pledging to advance women across ethnic and racial groups into leadership roles. For the first time since the initiative was launched in 2017, this group provided insight on pay equity reviews, which are critical for advancing women and ensuring fair business practices.

In the United States, where most Champion companies are based, the gender pay gap for full-time employees is 16.9%, with larger gaps for women from marginalized racial and ethnic groups. This report shows that the vast majority of Champion companies (82%) conducted at least one pay equity review within the last three years—a higher proportion than found in other studies—indicating that they are models for other organizations to follow.

Champion companies are also ahead of the Fortune 500 overall in women’s board representation (35% compared to 27%), including the representation of women from marginalized racial and ethnic groups (8% compared to 6%). As a group, these companies exceed the 30% threshold known as critical mass, which decades of social science research has found shifts group dynamics and leads to improvements in corporate governance performance.

“We know that what gets measured gets managed,” said Catalyst President & CEO Lorraine Hariton. “We applaud these leaders and their organizations for prioritizing and driving equity with methodical measurement and transparency.” Catalyst believes the disclosure of diversity, equity, and inclusion metrics and goals illustrates a deep strategic commitment to a fair environment and should be a universal corporate practice.

The Catalyst CEO Champions For Change companies represent more than 11 million employees and over $3 trillion in revenue globally. Since global data collection began in 2018, this group has continually outperformed their global peers in the representation of women across the leadership pipeline.

Read the report and learn more about Catalyst CEO Champions For Change at catalyst.org/champions.

About Catalyst

Catalyst is a global nonprofit supported by many of the world’s most powerful CEOs and leading companies to help build workplaces that work for women. Founded in 1962, Catalyst drives change with preeminent thought leadership, actionable solutions, and a galvanized community of multinational corporations to accelerate and advance women into leadership—because progress for women is progress for everyone.

Contacts
Erin Souza-Rezendes
Vice President, Global Communications
Catalyst
[email protected]

Stephanie Wolf
US Communications Consultant
Catalyst
[email protected]