introduction

Gender diversity has made its way to the top of the agenda for most companies. However, we still have a long way to go before we achieve the balance that truly reflects our society’s reality - especially since it is not yet moving at the speed the business environment demands. Kingsley Gate Partners has helped many organizations in this effort—and will continue to do so with similar thought leadership reports. Titled “Women in Business,” our study was conducted to understand the women executive leaders of IberoAmerica; what makes them successful; and identify the management skills and leadership attributes they have developed that allow them to achieve roles as Board Members, CEOs and other key positions (C-Level) in the front line.

There is a lot of talk about diversity, but like many world-class organizations, we do not necessarily know how to exercise it properly. In order to understand gender diversity in depth, we talked to a large group of female executive leaders to learn what catapulted them to success, the difficulties they encountered along the way, and the advice they have for the leaders of tomorrow. We also compared their profiles with what companies demand for in senior positions around the world and identified the Management Skills and Leadership Attributes that firms are looking for today. These findings allowed us to evaluate the development paths for women who want to continue to grow their careers. Between April and November 2020, our Senior Consultants conducted detailed structured interviews with 407 Executive Leaders from 10 Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela.