Companies competing for talent may now face a new question from job applicants: where are the women in leadership.

A report by P&A Grant Thornton shows that professionals are increasingly evaluating employers not only on compensation but also on leadership diversity, workplace culture and how seriously organizations implement gender equality initiatives.

According to the Women in Business 2026 report, 97.7 percent of Philippine businesses said they personally consider gender equality initiatives within a company, while 71.6 percent identify it as a priority.

The report also found that nearly a quarter of businesses have encountered job candidates asking about the gender balance of senior management or seeking proof of initiatives aimed at improving gender diversity during recruitment.

In fact, 40.9 percent of businesses now report candidates raising questions about gender balance in leadership, an increase of 10.2 percentage points from the previous year — the largest rise among all external influences affecting recruitment.

“We’re seeing candidates focus more on culture aside from numbers,” Abe Pelayo, people and culture group director of P&A Grant Thornton, said.

“They want to know if the workplace is fair, if people are treated consistently, and if opportunities are genuinely open to everyone. For many of them, an unbiased and supportive environment matters just as much as compensation.”

The report noted that women currently make up 70.4 percent of the junior-level workforce in the firm, compared with 31 percent at the partner level, highlighting the need for stronger representation of women in top leadership roles.

Across the Philippines, the proportion of women in senior management has risen slightly to 44.5 percent, reflecting gradual progress but also underscoring the need for sustained efforts to close leadership gaps.

“Leadership diversity directly impacts business resilience and decision-making,” Romualdo Murcia III, chairman and managing partner of P&A Grant Thornton, said.

“In today’s competitive talent environment, organisations that visibly embed gender equality into their strategy are better positioned to attract and retain high-performing leaders.”

The research also showed that recent female senior appointments in Philippine firms were evenly split between internal promotions and external hires, suggesting the importance of both building internal leadership pipelines and attracting experienced leaders from outside the organization.

While only eight percent of businesses plan to relax some gender equality initiatives, 33.3 percent say they intend to introduce new measures to strengthen diversity and inclusion efforts.

The findings indicate that as companies compete for top talent, visible and measurable commitments to gender equality may increasingly influence where professionals choose to build their careers.