Sixty percent of the top U.S. companies now have at least two women on their executive committees. Eight companies (including IBM, Pepsico, Lockheed Martin and General Motors) have a woman CEO. But closer inspection shows there’s a long way to go.

My gender consultancy firm, 20-First, has just published its annual Gender Balance Scorecard (pdf) of the top 300 companies in the world across the US, Europe and Asia. As usual, we try to broaden the focus from the current buzz around corporate boards to the more relevant metric of the gender balance of executive committees.

By focusing on the top management of a company – people who have worked their way to the top and have executive responsibility for its results – the report offers a clear picture of the attitudes and environments that companies have built – or haven’t – to gender balance their leadership teams.

Of the 1,164 executive committee members of America’s Top 100 companies, the ratio is still 83% men to 17% women. And two thirds of these women are in staff or support positions (65%) such as HR, Communications or Legal. Only 35% are in line or operational roles – and there has been no significant change in these percentages over the last three years.

Meanwhile, Europe’s companies, while progressing on Board balance in some countries because of quotas (or the threat of them), are still struggling to balance their executive teams. Less than a third (29%) of European companies have at least two women on their Executive Committees. However, this is better than the 20% in 2011. None have a female CEO. Of the 1,025 executive committee members of Europe’s Top 100 companies, the real story is the continued and absolute (89%) dominance of men. Of the 11% that are women, the majority (58%) are in staff or support roles, a tiny bit better than the 65% in the US.

Asian companies lag far behind their Western counterparts. The top Asian (including Australian) companies are still the preserve of men. The vast majority (89%) of companies have less than two women on their leadership team. Of the 1,099 members of Executive Committees, 96% are men. Of the 42 women who are sprinkled among them, two thirds of them are in staff roles.

To determine these ratios, the survey tracks companies along six phases of the gender journey:

Asleep – Some companies haven’t even started the journey; we put them in our ‘Asleep’ category. These companies are still, in 2014, pictures of imbalance. They are run by an exclusively male team. Token – Less than 15% of both genders on the Executive Team. In this category, the individual(s) is in a staff or support function rather than a line or operational role. Starting Smart – These firms also have less than 15% of both genders in the mix, but they are in a central core or operational role, sometimes even CEO. Progressing – These companies have reached a minimum of between 15% and 24% of both genders on their top team. Critical Mass – These are companies that have achieved a balance of at least 25% of both genders, but less than 40%. Balanced – The rare companies that have achieved gender balance, with a minimum 40% of both genders on the Executive Team. This is where balance at the top begins to reflect the reality of 21st century customers, leadership and talent and gives companies the competitive edge to innovate and deliver value sustainably and globally.

You really have to search hard for signs of progress in the gender-balance journey at Balanced levels. Only nine well-known companies are now run by women out of 300.

The differences across geographical regions show the impact of national culture on the prioritization of gender balance. This is less true by sector; the most balanced companies cover a range of sectors.

Leadership is the key variable in improving the balance at the top. The companies that have become balanced or achieved critical mass have been proactively adapting their corporate cultures and mindsets to the 21st century. We salute their success. And hope it will offer good role models to the rest.