While not as high as some of its European Union (EU) neighbours, the result is nevertheless encouraging. Africa has also been a world leader in gender diversity at the corporate board and chief executive officer (CEO) levels, with African women holding 23 per cent of positions in executive committees in 2016. At the CEO level, women occupied 5 per cent of positions, compared with a global average of 4 per cent that same year. It also reviews women's ownership of companies and agricultural holdings and the extent to which they are overcoming barriers to ownership such as inheritance.