How many women currently hold senior leadership positions in your organization? (Not sure? Your website most likely has an “about” page featuring the executive management or leadership team.) Less than 10% 11-20% 21-30% 31-40% More than 40%

How often do the leaders of your organization talk about having more women at the decision-making levels of senior management? I’ve never heard them talk about this. It was mentioned at a staff meeting once, but nothing ever came of it. I hear about it from time to time, but I don’t see anything changing. They talk about it frequently. It seems like a priority, and I’ve heard of some company-wide programs that aim to get more women into leadership. Everyone agrees it’s the best practice for our business and our people. Now it’s just the way things are—no need for a lot of discussion.

The people most likely to speak in support of getting more women into leadership positions at your organization would be: HR professionals Female mid-level managers Male mid-level managers Board members or senior female leaders C-suite male leaders

Which of the following best represents your organization’s philosophy about having balanced numbers of men and women in senior leadership? “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” “Seems like a noble cause. We should get on that.” “We don’t have that many female leaders to choose from. It’s not our fault that women don’t seek top-level positions as often as men do.” “It’s not a top priority right now because we have bigger business challenges. We’ll get to it when things settle down.” “We’re on top of this. HR’s got it mapped out. Check our numbers.” “We really support this, but know that true change takes a long time. We work at it all the time.”

If you were to have a discussion with the decision makers about balancing the number of men and women leaders in your organization, the main reason they would support it would be: They wouldn’t support it. They don’t think it applies to us. It’s the right thing to do in this day and age. Women really should be paid equally. More women buy our products, and we want our leadership to reflect our customer profiles. We want to be seen as leaders in our industry. Men and women leaders working together produce better business results.

Which of the following best reflects your organization’s current practices related to increasing the number of women in leadership? We don’t have anything special in place. We have specific hiring policies and practices designed to attract and hire more women. We have a variety of workplace support systems such as women’s forums or flexible work arrangements to keep women in the workplace. We have women-specific development programs to prepare them for senior leadership and help them manage their career and life priorities. We have many programs, practices and resources dedicated to helping retain and develop top female talent.

When women look at their futures in your organization, they’re most likely to see that: We’re old school. Women are rarely considered for top positions. Even though we have female leaders, the culture doesn’t support women’s exit and re-entry when life changes occur. Women and men aren’t given the same access to leadership skill development and opportunity. There are a lot of support systems in place, but climbing the ladder still seems overwhelming while balancing life and family priorities. Women can thrive at all levels of our organization.

As a component of diversity, how important is women’s leadership development to your organization? Not at all important. As long as we’re compliant with HR and EEOC policies we’re fine. It’s a good idea, and we discuss it from time to time. Managers are encouraged to hire women, as well as people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. We have specific targets established to attract and retain women in leadership. Senior leaders’ performance reviews and bonuses are tied to achieving specific diversity targets related to having more women leaders.

Which of the following best represents your organization’s beliefs about men and women’s leadership capabilities? Men are inherently better leaders. Most women don’t have what it takes to deal with the tough decisions that leaders face. Women might be good leaders, but they often care more about people’s feelings than about getting good business results. Both men and women are equally capable of leadership. What matters is finding the right organizational fit for each individual’s style of leadership. Men and women bring very different qualities and skill sets to the workplace, and combining their abilities gives us the best results.

On a scale from 1 to 5, how would you rate your organization’s priority level for developing gender balance in senior leadership? 1 = It’s not even on our radar. 2 = We’ve heard of it and it makes sense, but it’s not a current priority. 3 = It’s moving up on our priority list. We’ve established some goals and plans to develop more women for senior leadership. 4 = We have targets, policies and practices for hiring, developing and retaining more women for senior leadership. Change at the cultural level is slow, but we’re making progress. 5 = Gender-balanced leadership is central to our philosophy for good business outcomes, and is making its way into the fabric of our culture.

Which of the following categories best describes your organization's openness to change? Thanks, but no thanks. We’re good. We’ll make these changes when it becomes absolutely necessary. Let’s see how it works out for everyone else. We need more evidence this is worth pursuing. We want to get ahead of the curve. Let’s get something started. We live and breathe change, and we’re committed. Bring it on.

Approximately how many employees does your organization have? 0-100 employees 101-500 employees 501-1,500 employees 1,501-2,500 employees More than 2,500 employees

What industry is your organization in? Technology Finance or Insurance Energy / Utility Real Estate Health Care Charitable / Non-governmental Nrganization Government Agency Arts & Entertainment Construction Retail Trade Wholesale Trade Manufacturing Other