Catalyst, the non-profit organization reveals that women only account for 5.8 percent of the CEOs of Standard and Poor's 500 companies today. However, women make up more than half of all management, professional and related occupations. An EY survey states that over 50 percent of business leaders say they need to do more to attract, retain and promote women to leadership positions and that companies don’t effectively measure how well women are progressing through the workforce and into leadership.

While 23 percent of business leaders expect no change to gender diversity in senior leadership in the next five years, the Peterson Institute for International Economics and EY reveals that “having more female leaders in business can significantly increase profitability.” The report “Is Gender Diversity Profitable? Evidence from a Global Study” states that an organization with 30 percent female leaders could add up to 6 percentage points to its net margin. 

So what does all this data mean?

This data shows that bringing women to the organizational fore not only results in performance and profit, but women leaders also bring with them a healthy working environment that is high in emotional quotient, empathy and compassion. 

And although data shows optimism related to inclusion of women in the workplace, gender inequality is especially stark in entrepreneurship, tech and innovation. But despite these barriers, women have and continue to lead disruptive change across a variety of sectors.  There are disruptive women leaders across many sectors, from finance to government, to business and philanthropy. However, the question is “Are women still treated equal?” Women are judged differently than men and on different parameters — from being judged on performance instead of potential, to being labeled at the workplace. 

To understand how women are experiencing challenges and dimensions of leadership as they lead digital transformation agendas in their own career journeys every day, we reached out to women leaders who have been through this journey to seek advice on how women need to rise above such perceptions and sensitivities to bring a change, the imperative for women to upskill themselves to understand the changing business models and digital re-invention, the need to inculcate agility, collaborative attitude, keeping one abreast of the new trends and how to break through the glass ceiling.