The COVID-19 Scenario in Terms of Gender: A Preliminary Analysis in IBEX-35 Companies

The COVID-19 pandemic has had serious consequences on employment and recent reports have warned that the impacts of the crisis are never gender-neutral. The objective of this research is to analyse the variations that have existed in terms of female representation in the Spanish listed companies during the COVID-19 scenario. The integrated annual reports and the non-financial information reports of each company have been examined to identify the changes that have occurred in their governance structures, leadership positions, and total workforce. A descriptive and correlational analysis was carried out in 2019 and 2020. The findings reveal that: (1) there has been a slight increase in the figures of female representation in different hierarchical positions; (2) the proportion of women on the boards of directors does not depend on the number of women in lower positions; and (3) there is a positive relationship between female representation in leadership positions and the number of women in the total workforce. These results have important implications for business sustainability in the medium and long term.