A new global ranking has unveiled the world’s top companies for women, released alongside data indicating a looming crisis in female workforce retention.
The list revealed by Forbes highlights employers excelling in supporting women, as major data shows nearly 40% of women plan to leave their current jobs within two years.
A comprehensive analysis based on the survey of around 120,000 women across 36 countries, investigated companies on the basis of critical factors including pay equity, opportunities for advancement, work-life balance, and response to discrimination concerns.
Another prominent factor that was considered during the analysis was percentage of women in leadership positions and public perception of each company’s commitment to gender equality.
The top 20 companies leading the 2025 global ranking are:
- Microsoft (IT Software & Services), United States
- Roche Holding (Drugs & Biotechnology), Switzerland
- National Bank of Canada (Banking and Financial Services), Canada
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise (IT Software & Service), United States
- IKEA (Retail and Wholesale), Netherlands
- L’Oréal (Packaged Goods), France
- Deloitte (Professional Services), United Kingdom/ United States
- Nike (Clothing, Shoes, Sport Equipment), United States
- Netflix (Media and Advertising), United States
- Apple (Semiconductors, Electronics, Electrical Engineering), United States
- MAIF (Insurance), France
- Unilever (Packaged Goods), United Kingdom
- CIBC (Banking and Financial Services), Canada
- Fidelity Investments (Banking and Financial Services), United States
- Clorox (Retail and Wholesale), United States
- Coca-Cola (Food, Soft Beverages, Alcohol & Tobacco), United States
- H&M – Hennes & Mauritz (Clothing, Shoes, Sports Equipment), Sweden
- Mondi (Engineering, Manufacturing), United Kingdom
- Adidas (Clothing, Shoes, Sports Equipment), Germany
- The Estée Lauder Companies (Construction, Chemicals, Raw Materials), United States
The ranking follows the Deloitte Global 2025 Women @ Work survey where data from 7,500 women across 15 countries reveals alarming trends driving female talent away from workplaces.
The results indicate that only 5% of respondents plan to stay with their current employer long-term with lack of work-life balance (30%), inadequate pay (28%), and insufficient flexibility (27%) as major reasons to leave their jobs.
Another disturbing trend was major safety concerns with almost one-third of women worried about personal safety at work and 20% reporting harassment from colleagues