Justin Trudeau, prime minister of Canada, speaking at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, called for global firms to address the gender gap.

Trudeau, highlighted the increasing demands for businesses to play a positive role in society, and agreed that it may be difficult to know where to start but he said employing and promoting more women was something that all companies could do now.

He said: “I’d like to focus on a fundamental shift that every leader in this room can act on immediately. One that I have made a central tenet of my leadership. One that is core to this year’s Forum, thanks to the leadership of our seven extraordinary co-chairs.

I’m talking about hiring, promoting, and retaining more women. And not just because it’s the right thing to do, or the nice thing to do, but because it’s the smart thing to do.

In Canada, like all over the world, much of the economic and labour force growth we’ve experienced over the last many decades is because of women entering into – and changing – the workforce. But there is still so much room for improvement, and such enormous benefit to be had.”

He referred to a McKinsey report that estimated that narrowing the gender gap in Canada could add $150 billion to our economy by 2026. He said research showed that organisations with women on their corporate boards and in key leadership positions performed better than those without.

He added that the Peterson Institute for International Economics found that increasing the share of women in leadership positions from 0% to 30% translated into a 15% boost to profitability and recent estimates suggested that economic gender parity could add $1.75 trillion to the United States’ GDP.

Trudeau announced that Melinda Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Isabelle Hudon, a Canadian businesswoman who was recently named as the country’s new ambassador to France, had been appointed as co-chairs for the G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council.

Meanwhile Jack Ma, Alibaba founder and executive chairman, also commented on the role of women in business at the WEF annual meeting. He said:  “If you want your company to be successful; if you want your company to operate with wisdom, with care, then women are the best.

“37% of senior management in Alibaba are women. Part of the ‘secret sauce’ of our success is because we have so many women colleagues.”

Meanwhile, the 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer provided an indication of how people are viewing companies and their bosses in a more positive light and as the force of positive change as advocated by participants at Davos. In this year’s barometer survey 72% of respondents said that they trust their own company and 64% believed a company can take actions that both increase profits and improve economic and social conditions in the community where it operates.

This past year saw chief executive credibility rise sharply by seven points to 44% after a number of high-profile business leaders voiced their positions on the issues of the day. Nearly two-thirds of respondents said they want chief executives (CEO) to take the lead on policy change instead of waiting for government, which now ranks significantly below business in trust in 20 markets. This show of faith comes with new expectations; building trust (69%) is now the highest priority job for CEOs, surpassing producing high-quality products and services (68%).