Catalyst CEO Champions For Change ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3388636-1&h=2656038328&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catalyst.org%2Fchampions%2F&a=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 a global pandemic and turbulent economy. According to the newly 
released Prioritizing Equity at a Pivotal Moment: The Catalyst CEO Champions 
For Change ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3388636-1&h=423716980&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catalyst.org%2Freports%2Fchampions-for-change-2021%2F&a=Prioritizing+Equity+at+a+Pivotal+Moment%3A+The+Catalyst+CEO+Champions+For+Change 
)  report, women represent 27.9% of executives at Champion companies, compared 
to 23% among their global peers.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/597751/Catalyst_C4C_Logo.jpg 

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, a subset of Champion companies provided 
metrics on promotions, revealing that in 2020, these companies promoted women 
at nearly equal rates to men. In fact, the group promoted women at slightly 
higher proportions than men into senior leadership positions.

"We applaud these CEOs and their organizations for their continued commitment 
to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives through the challenges of 
the pandemic," said Catalyst President & CEO Lorraine Hariton. "It's critical 
that we continue to develop the leadership pipeline for women, particularly 
women of color, if we're going to see significant gains to build equitable and 
inclusive workplaces for women."

The Champion companies also outpaced their peers in the Fortune 500 in women's 
representation at the board of directors level at 32.2% compared to 26.5%. 
Women identifying with underrepresented ethnic or racial groups accounted for 
7.5% of board members at Champion companies, compared to 5.7% at Fortune 500 
companies overall.

This is an inflection point in the history of the women's movement. Companies 
can address the disadvantages women endured because of Covid-19 by developing 
robust initiatives focusing on their re-entry, recruitment, advancement, and 
retention. The report highlights actions companies can take, including:

    --Pinpointing their organization's greatest areas of opportunity to advance 
      women, particularly women identifying with underrepresented ethnic or 
      racial groups. 
    --Creating customized solutions to foster equitable advancement, such as 
      flexible work options and sponsorship programs. 
    --Tracking and measuring progress against defined goals.

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 ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3388636-1&h=1544693861&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catalyst.org%2Freports%2Fchampions-for-change-2021%2F&a=Read+the+report 
), and learn more about Catalyst CEO Champions For Change at 
catalyst.org/champions ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3388636-1&h=3343965702&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.catalyst.org%2Fchampions&a=catalyst.org%2Fchampions 
).

Watch the video ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3388636-1&h=1846166220&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DfwpT0gHxm5A&a=Watch+the+video 
).

Join the conversation: #CatalystForChange

About Catalyst 

Catalyst ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3388636-1&h=1288599893&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.catalyst.org%2F&a=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. 

Media Contacts:

Naomi R. Patton
Vice President, Media & Public Relations
Catalyst
npatton@catalyst.org

Stephanie Wolf
US Communications Consultant
Catalyst
stephanie@stephaniewolfpr.com

SOURCE: Catalyst