In this blog, Bill Morris, retired president and senior managing director of Accenture Canada, shares the metrics that the company tracks and uses to set targets. These metrics are directly related to the ones found in the report “Advancing Women as Leaders in the Private Sector” from the Canada-US Council for Advancement of Women.

Accenture’s eight overall metrics are:

1. Initial Recruitment of Women: Measured for each of their business units. According to Morris, this is what has made the difference.
2. Attrition Rates of Women Relative to Men:Measured by business unit and level. According to Morris, the attrition gap data by level helps Accenture focus on maintaining gender parity as women advance.
3. Advancement Rates of Women Relative to Men: Comparison between the percentages of women vs. men getting promoted from a cohort. Measured by business unit for each leader to reflect on the in-year promotion decisions. It is also tracked long-term to assess promotion patterns of the units.
4. Pay by Gender: Currently Accenture doesn’t report on an aggregate average payroll for men vs. women. Accenture does a review prior to starting their annual compensation cycle, and then after rewarding decisions.
5. Retention of Women after Becoming a Mother: Another metric to complement this one can be the retention of women and men when they anticipate starting a family.
6. Representation of Women at Management Level: Business unit leaders are accountable for this metric.
7. Representation of Women at Executive Level: Business unit leaders are accountable for this metric.
8. Representation of Women at Senior Leadership Level: The CEO or the senior managing director is accountable for this metric.

Read more here.