The Importance of a Solid VP Bench — and How It Can Fix the C-Suite Pipeline

The pipeline to the C-Suite has been, in a word, hampered since women started entering the workforce but due to the pandemic, the progression has become even more stalled.  Though the number of women CEOs reached a record (if still slight) 8.2% of Fortune 500 companies in 2021, nearly two million women have considered leaving the workforce across every level over the past 18 months — and three million have.

According to McKinsey’s 2020 State of Women report, women make up just 29% of Vice President roles, and 28% of Senior Vice President roles. That means today’s C-Suite has less of a pool to consider for their succession. With the childcare crisis coupled with the Great Resignation, there’s an urgency for corporate leaders to find diverse talent and build up their VP bench now in order to groom them for future C-Suite succession.

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