For International Women’s Day, the professional services firm Grant Thornton has published the report Women in Business 2025 With the number of women directives in Spain, after examining the entire typology of positions of responsibility exercised by women, in private, public, quoted or family companies.
The figures of women directives in Spain were reduced slightly, of the historical 40% that our country managed to reach in the last two years at 38.4%. This slight fall does not prevent Spain from being ahead of the European and global average In number of management positions occupied by women, both with 34%, and does not detert us from the number one position in Europe and sixth worldwide. The historical series, in addition, indicates that the evolution of the presence of female talent in the senior management Spain has been remarkable, with an increase of 4.6 percentage points in the last five years and 12.8 during the last decade.
According to Ramón Galcerán, president of Grant Thornton, «Equity is positive. Spanish companies are aware of the relationship between gender diversity and better performance And they have accelerated their actions and policies in the last year, which has allowed Spain to cope again excellent positions. The drums of possible setbacks that occupy holders in recent months should not divert the objectives that companies have set in equity both nationally and European. The conviction of its usefulness, the results of its application and the advances they ensure will prevail over regulatory setbacks or opinion states ».
On the other hand, Spanish companies without women in management positions They barely suppose 4.5%a lower rate than that of the European Union (4.7%), but even greater than the average of the study (4.1%). The evolution of this percentage over the years asserts the many advances that have occurred in our country, since it has been reduced by 26.2 percentage points in just ten years.
Directive women, much to do
«To think that having 38% of women directives is a goal and that everything we needed has already been achieved It would be a mistake. The stagnation, with a two -point setback, shows the importance of continuing to work to improve these figures for next year. It is essential to continue promoting active equity and equality policies within companies, as well as striving to generate work environments that not only promote women’s access to leadership roles, but once in them they can deploy all their potential »explains Isabel Perea, audit partner in Grant Thornton and leader of her commission of equity, diversity and inclusion.
At the regional level, the data remains positive, although they reveal that in our country the presence of women in management positions advances at two speeds. On the one hand, Catalonia (44.2%) and the Community of Madrid (42.2%) They are among the communities analyzed by Grant Thornton with a higher female talent rate.
Next, regions such as Aragon (40.9%), Navarra (39.7%), Galicia (36.8%), the Valencian Community (36.1%), Andalusia (28.3%) or Basque Country (35.7%) are located. With regard to variations with respect to last year, the data also suggest the idea of an unequal advance. Catalonia, with an increase of 8.2 percentage points, and Aragon, with 6.9 points, registered the most notable increases in their female presence rates in management positions; followed by the Community of Madrid (2.2 points) and Navarra (0.7 points). On the other hand, descents occurred in the weight of the managerial female talent in the Valencian Community (with a drop of 7.9 percentage points), Andalusia (-7.7 points), Galicia (-4.2 points) and the Basque Country (-2.3 points).
Grant Thornton’s report has also taken into account female leadership by managerial position. Both internationally and in Spain, it is detected that all positions have experienced a generalized growth trend of female talentAlthough it is confirmed that women’s access to greater responsibility has been less agile than in the rest of the positions. This is the case of the position of CEO, which in a year descends 7 points, until it is 19.3%. Bad news also for president’s positions that, although it increases slightly two points, stays in a brief 4.5% and that of a partner, which reaches 10.3%, two points above the global average.
The private sector presses more than the public in gender diversity
According to the study prepared by Grant Thornton, 83%of Spanish companies ensure that information about the percentage of women directives is available to the public, a higher rate both at the EU average (78%) and the global (77%). In our country, therefore, there is greater transparency.
As soon as the sources that have pressed to obtain information, the most common in us are an existing client (28.2%), an external advisor or consultant (22.4%), a regulator (21.5%), a new client (19.7%) or an investor (19.7%). The sum of private pressures exceeds those that come from the public sector, since the managers surveyed place it below: the regulator with a 21.5% importance and administration with 14.8%.
In addition, external pressures work. Half of Spanish companies (49.4%) have been asked to see their gender balance states that their number of women in management positions have grown in a year, a rate higher than the average of the European Union (47.3%), but not that of the study as a whole (56.3%).
According to Isabel Perea, «These pressures originate because current business culture affects all stakeholders, from investors, potential clients and lenders or banks. Although regulation plays an important role and manages to mobilize wills, Much of the external demands for improvement in female leadership come from the market itselfwhich has experienced a significant change towards greater awareness of the benefits of having more women directives ».
Very interesting this study Women in Business 2025 conducted through 5,000 interviews with senior managers and directives. In Spain, the size of the total sample of companies interviewed has been 400, mixing 200 online interviews and 200 telephone interviews, both men (72.65%) and women (27.39%). To obtain the autonomous data, a proportional sample of managers of all the autonomous communities analyzed in the report has been taken into account, which has been completed with a representative sample of the rest of the communities not included in the report.
This study have the regions with the most presence of business activity according to INE data. The report takes into account in its demography of companies and business leaders surveyed medium -sized companies, between 50 and 250 employees in Spain, with billing above € 50 million. This medium -sized company classification is not coincident in all countries included.
More information | Informe Women in Business 2025
