Gender balance is first and foremost a business issue. McKinsey estimates we could add 28 trillion to global GDP if we achieved gender equality everywhere - that is more than the GDPs of the US and China combined. But it is so much more than that. Gender balance is one of the best levers we can pull to build better managers and leaders at every level, improve team performance and create better cultures where everyone can thrive.

In the Penguin Experts: Create a Gender-Balanced Workplace, Ann Francke, the CEO of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), introduces her solution to combating the problems at the heart of the continued imbalance and offers clear, actionable strategies for making a positive change in your organisation.

Ann Francke is Chief Executive of the Chartered Management Institute. She started her career at Procter & Gamble and has held senior executive positions at Mars, Boots, Yell and BSI. She is an expert on gender balance in the workplace and speaks frequently in the media and conferences on this and other management topics. Ann also authored the Financial Times Guide to Management and has been named in the top 100 women to watch in the 2015 Female FTSE Cranfield report. Ann was awarded the MemCom Award for outstanding leadership of a UK professional body' in 2016. Ann holds several Board positions and five Honorary Doctorates for her work in management and leadership.