Top-performing companies are executing with greater intensity and have the results to show for it. For example, while many managers work with their teams to identify development opportunities, top companies also have programs aimed specifically at boosting the mentorship of women and their promotion rates. Or consider flexibility: The top-performing companies in our research are more than twice as likely as those at the bottom to offer emergency backup childcare services; three times as likely to offer on-site childcare; and more likely to offer extended maternity and paternity leave, as well as programs to smooth the transition to and from extended leave. Moves such as these build broad-based enthusiasm because they help men and women alike. Maintaining momentum Despite these encouraging signs, the overall picture is one of uneven results, which sometimes breeds skepticism. Barely half of the men and women in our survey expressed confidence that their company is doing what it takes to advance women. To keep organizational uncertainty from slowing progress, leaders should take additional steps like these: • Hold yourself accountable. A majority of companies say they don’t hold their senior leaders accountable for performance against gender-diversity metrics, or use financial incentives to encourage action. Employees notice: less than 20 percent in the survey said they saw leaders regularly being held accountable for performance on gender diversity. If you want to help keep your organization on track, show your people that senior leaders are taking responsibility for the outcomes of the initiatives they are driving. Forty percent of the companies in our survey do emphasize top-management accountability, and many of them are seeing much better results. • Make men part of the solution. Less than half of men report that advancing women is an important priority for them. Leaders hoping to bring them on board need to show, through actions, not just words, how things can be different: the data show that when men think their company or direct manager is highly committed, or get explicit guidance from a senior leader on how to improve, they are more likely to embrace the cause. • Emphasize race and gender. Sometimes change efforts benefit from widening the lens, such as addressing the reality that there is still a disquieting racial component to gender bias. Just 3 percent of C-suite 2