With the global push for gender parity and diversity, equity, inclusivity and belongingness (DEI&B), Philippine businesses remain steady in their progress in these areas.

In the latest survey from the Grant Thornton’s International Business Report (IBR), titled “Women in Business 2025, Accelerating action on Parity,” Philippine businesses ranked third among respondent countries in the percentage of women in senior management positions for 2025 with 43 percent — a slight drop from last year’s percentage of 43.1 percent.

However, while this sustained growth is commendable, data shows that achieving true gender parity in the workplace remains a long way off. Accelerating the actions taken towards closing the gender gap remains imperative moving forward.

“It’s disheartening to think we might miss out on another generation of female leaders. Although we’re optimistic about the progress made so far, there’s still much work to be done. We must intensify our efforts to achieve parity well before 2051, in line with Grant Thornton International’s goals,” says Romualdo V. Murcia III, chairman and managing partner of P&A Grant Thornton, a leading professional services firm.

Going beyond targets and milestones

According to the “Women in Business 2025” report, 85 percent of Philippine businesses are currently paying their employees the same for their role, regardless of gender, with 15 percent of respondents aiming to achieve this between 1 to 5 years from now. This is slightly more optimistic than the ASEAN regions, with 83.1 percent businesses paying employees the same for their role, regardless of gender.

Additionally, data indicates that in the Philippines, only 3.4 percent of the country’s businesses have no women in senior management. Given the significant proportion of businesses these firms account for, this represents a seismic shift in the percentage of women in senior management across the workforce in key economies.

Moving forward, businesses must consider a clear target on the percentage of women in senior management positions and consider going a step further and set targets on specific positions they would like to see women occupy.

Creating pathways to parity

It’s not enough just to promote women into certain roles — they need appropriate mentorship and support in order to continue to progress and attract more women to climb the ladder.

Globally, it’s a cause for concern that some of the fundamental processes for improving gender diversity are among the least popular elements for businesses to set gender equality targets. These include mentoring (26 percent), retention (25.8 percent) and networking (25.3 percent). Businesses of all sizes must consider focusing on these key areas as they push for gender parity.

Notably, Philippine businesses have increased their focus on parental support (66.7 percent), executive/partner bonuses (65.7 percent) and mentoring (59 percent) in the last 12 months, likely due to the cultural emphasis on family support and the need for strong mentorship programs to foster leadership development.

The pressure is on

The “Women in Business 2025” research highlights the broad array of external pressures prompting firms to improve the gender balance of their teams, and the important role it could play in improving firms’ capacity for growth.

In the Philippines, the most frequent sources of pressure are potential new clients, pushing more than half (54.5 percent) of businesses for action on gender diversity. Other significant sources of external pressure for action on gender balance are potential new investors (48.9 percent), and a partner organization (43.2 percent).

“Businesses must not only be driven by external pressure in pushing for DE&IB but must also be driven by a genuine desire and recognition of the value it brings,” says Atty. Olivier D. Aznar, vice chairman and deputy managing partner at P&A Grant Thornton.

Accelerating action, pushing for progress

The key takeaway from this year’s “Women in Business 2025” research is clear: we must act now to avoid another missed generation of opportunity. While we’ve made great progress in the past few years, bigger and bolder strides are needed as we push for gender parity.

Karitha Ericson, global leader for network capability, culture and corporate sustainability of Grant Thornton International, emphasized the impact businesses have in the fight for parity.

“Their actions and decisions can be a catalyst for change — and when applied to the challenge of gender equality in senior management positions, their effort can be transformational. Reach parity quicker and we will all see the benefits of stronger economies, better performing business and fairer, more inclusive cultures,” Ericson says.

Grant Thornton is one of the world’s leading organizations of independent assurance, tax and advisory firms. Its IBR is a quarterly survey of mid-market businesses intended to provide insight into the views and expectations of around 10,000 businesses across 28 economies.

The data for the report is from interviews conducted between May and June with chief executive officers, managing directors, chairpersons or other senior executives from all industry sectors.