Women in Business 2026: The talent war has a new frontline – more candidates are asking 'where are your female leaders?'

Press Release

Women in Business 2026: The talent war has a new frontline – more candidates are asking 'where are your female leaders?'

04 Mar 2026

Job candidates aren't just asking about salary anymore. They increasingly want to see the gender balance data of your senior leadership.

Grant Thornton's Women in Business 2026 report reveals that 91.9% of mid-market leaders say they personally consider a company's gender equality initiatives when applying for roles, with two-thirds calling it a priority.

If leaders demand this in their own job searches, candidates at every level increasingly expect the same transparency. 

Indeed, nearly a quarter of mid-market firms report that potential hires have asked about the gender balance of their senior management team or evidence of a commitment to a program that increases or improves gender diversity, during recruitment – a 14.3 percentage point jump from last year. It's the biggest rise among all external sources requesting this information.

Mid-market businesses are winning talent from larger organisations. Among female senior hires who joined within the past six months, 43.5% came from companies with more than 500 employees – above the long-term average of 38.4%.

Stavros Ioannou, Grant Thornton Cyprus CEO stated: “The competition for talent has fundamentally changed. Today’s candidates are not only evaluating compensation, but they are looking closely at leadership composition, culture and whether advancement is genuinely possible. When organisations make female leadership visible, they send a powerful signal about opportunity, accountability and long-term commitment. Gender-balanced leadership goes beyond reputation: it strengthens decision-making, attracts talent and enhances sustainable growth.”

But visibility matters. When women see leaders who look like them, they believe advancement is possible. When future talent sees gender equality embedded in strategy, they choose to join and stay.

The research shows around two-thirds of recent female senior appointments were internal. Businesses that roll back gender equality initiatives risk losing these leaders and weakening their pipeline.

Yet 21.9% of mid-market firms plan to relax, or have already relaxed, some of their gender equality initiatives – a decision that risks losing talent and investment at a time when both are increasingly scarce. The percentage of women in senior management fell 1.1 percentage points to 32.9% globally. The report urges businesses to increase visibility of gender equality initiatives to unlock opportunity and attract talent.

Access the full information here.