ManpowerGroup: Create Environments that Develop Women Leaders

Women Remain Under-represented in Leadership Roles Despite Chronic Talent Shortages

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Jan 25, 2013, 04:55 ET

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions and World Economic Forum (WEF) strategic partner, advises companies to embrace greater flexibility in order to empower women leaders in an era of unpredictability that demands new approaches to doing business.

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ManpowerGroup's 2012 Talent Shortage Survey found that, globally, management and executive roles are among the most difficult to fill. Despite this, Grant Thornton's 2012 International Business Report revealed that barely one in five senior management positions globally is held by women. In her opening plenary remarks at the WEF Annual Meeting, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde urged the business world to focus on inclusive growth. She said: "The evidence is clear; when women do better, economies do better. Seventy percent of all consumption decisions in the world are made by women."

"The world simply cannot afford such a poor representation of half the talent pool when filling key leadership positions is posing such a global challenge. Growing the pipeline of women in management roles is critical to having the talent businesses need to win," said Mara Swan, ManpowerGroup Executive Vice President, Global Strategy and Talent. "Companies should revisit old-fashioned work models and people practices so that high-performing women are not prevented from rising to leadership positions."

Swan, who yesterday participated in a meeting of the Women Leaders Advisory Board at the WEF Annual Meeting, was recently named a member of the WEF Global Agenda Council on Leadership and was honored as HR Executive of the Year for 2012 by Human Resource Executive magazine.

As world economic growth continues to shift considerably South and East and demographic shifts accelerate, emerging markets in particular need to devote more resources to developing women for leadership roles. For example, the 2012 International Business Report revealed that India has among the fewest women in senior management positions (14%), yet ManpowerGroup's Talent Shortage Survey found that nearly half of Indian businesses are impacted by talent shortages.

ManpowerGroup's new insights paper, "Leading in the Human Age," details steps businesses can take in order to formulate strategies for responding to unpredictable situations in this era of "certain uncertainty". In an age where talentism has become the dominant economic system, a company's strategies, processes and solutions must start with its people.

About ManpowerGroup

ManpowerGroup™ (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, creates and delivers high-impact solutions that enable our clients to achieve their business goals and enhance their competitiveness. With over 60 years of experience, our $22 billion company creates unique time to value through a comprehensive suite of innovative solutions that help clients win in the Human Age. These solutions cover an entire range of talent-driven needs from recruitment and assessment, training and development, and career management, to outsourcing and workforce consulting. ManpowerGroup maintains the world's largest and industry-leading network of 3,600 offices in 80 countries and territories, generating a dynamic mix of an unmatched global footprint with valuable insight and local expertise to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year, across all industry sectors, small and medium-sized enterprises, local, multinational and global companies. By connecting our deep understanding of human potential to the ambitions of clients, ManpowerGroup helps the organizations and individuals we serve achieve more than they imagined – because their success leads to our success. And by creating these powerful connections, we create power that drives organizations forward, accelerates personal success and builds more sustainable communities. We help power the world of work. The ManpowerGroup suite of solutions is offered through ManpowerGroup™ Solutions, Manpower®, Experis™ and Right Management®. Learn more about how ManpowerGroup can help you win in the Human Age at www.manpowergroup.com.

ManpowerGroup is the most trusted brand in the industry, and was once again the only company in our industry to be named to the Ethisphere Institute's 2012 World's Most Ethical Companies list for our proven commitment to ethical business practices, including an outstanding commitment to ethical leadership, compliance practices and corporate social responsibility.

In January 2011, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, ManpowerGroup announced the world has entered the Human Age, where talent has replaced capital as the key competitive differentiator. This concept of talentism as the new capitalism continues to resonate and was echoed as a core theme of the 2012 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Learn more at www.manpowergroup.com/humanage

Gain access to ManpowerGroup's extensive thought leadership papers, annual Talent Shortage surveys and the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, one of the most trusted indices of employment activity in the world, via the ManpowerGroup World of Work Insight iPad application. This thought leadership app explores the challenges faced by employers navigating the changing world of work and provides in-depth commentary, analysis, insight and advice on strategies for success.

Follow ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO Jeff Joerres on Twitter: twitter.com/manpowergroupjj. Joerres is one of only 20 Fortune 500 CEOs who leverages a Twitter account to get his message out.

SOURCE ManpowerGroup