How are 3,200 C-level and senior business executives around the world navigating disruption, and how might this differ between women and men leaders? For the third consecutive year, we’ve examined the global findings of AlixPartners' annual Disruption Index through the lens of gender – enabling us to answer that question.
Launched at the FT Live Women in Business Summit, with a foreword by Vivienne Artz, CEO, FTSE Women Leaders Review and AlixPartners Senior Advisor, we share our findings in this report.
Women leaders are less likely than men leaders to say their business “cannot keep up” with the pace of change (33% of women vs. 38% of men). They are also less likely to say employees are "set in their ways" (37% vs. 42%) or to believe their executive team “lacks the agility needed to combat disruption” (30% vs. 35%). 37% of women leaders expect significant positive growth this year, compared with 24% of men.
"Our company cannot keep up with the pace of change"
"We expect significant positive growth this year"
More women leaders report reduced anxiety in their roles this year (41% of women vs 36% of men). They are also less likely to feel they are personally falling behind on skills (24% of women vs. 30% of men), or to worry about job loss due to disruption (24% vs. 29%).
Women leaders are more likely to frame AI as a growth engine (71% of women vs. 63% of men), rather than a cost-reduction tool (29% of women vs. 37% of men).
Women
Men
Women leaders are more likely than men leaders to say their organization is "cutting edge" in understanding AI, AI adoption, and AI P&L impact. Women leaders are also more likely to report that agentic AI is deployed enterprise-wide (26% of women vs. 19% of men).
“My company is cutting edge in…”
Understanding AI
AI adoption
AI P&L impact
Women leaders are more likely to report "no problem" with legacy technology (39% of women vs. 32% of men), and to agree that their companies’ technology solutions “create competitive advantage” (88% vs. 83%).
"We have no problem with legacy tech"
"Our tech solutions create competitive advantage"
Women leaders are less likely to say that remote work models negatively impact productivity (35% of women vs. 45% of men).
Women leaders are less likely to expect AI-driven layoffs this year (61% of women vs. 71% of men), although both groups converge in their expectations over a five-year horizon (89% vs. 92%).
Women leaders accounted for 22% of our sample of more than 3,000 senior executives, up slightly from 21% last year. Women now hold 36% of leadership roles across FTSE 350 companies according to the FTSE Women Leaders Review 2026, yet constitute only 8% of CEOs among this group.
