A McKinsey study found that women have become more confident about career opportunities and that signs of “real progress” in gender equality exists for leadership roles.

Many employers have moved gender diversity to the top of their priority list.  The study was performed on behalf of the 30% Club and was first presented at its Leadership Forum.  The research dissects gender balance in the United Kingdom, honing in on the professional services sector.  The report acts as a follow up to research published by the 30% club almost four years ago.

Since 2012, the promotion gap between men and women in law firms has started to close.  The expectation that men were more likely to be promoted than women fell from 10 times more likely to just three times more likely as women push themselves to the forefront of opportunity.

Women are also showing equal career confidence and ambition in sectors like accountancy and consultancy firms.

Chair of the 30% Club Professional Services Firms’ Initiative, Caroline Carr, said, “It is good to see that three years from the first results we are seeing improvement in the rate of getting more women into UK partnerships in law firms and a consistent focus on gender balance as a business priority across the sector – although there is of course still some way to go…”

While this data shows an increase with positive results, a separate report by Clyde and Co shows there have been zero increases in the proportion of female high earners in the past four years.  The employment law firm analysed data from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and found that while the number of higher rate tax payers has become larger, women accounted for less than 30 percent of higher rate tax payers in each of the past four financial years.

Human resource professionals are urging employers to focus on diversity programmes that will help close the gap and get them ahead of the game.