Companies have every reason to promote women to executive positions. To understand the difficulties of reaching gender equality, we go to Japan, a macho country by definition. We look at how changing men’s mentality on gender equality has been a major challenge for organizations like Nissan or Bristol Myers Squibb. From here we go to Iceland, to see how the 2008 Credit Crunch and the ensuing ‘Kitchenware Revolution’ changed the role of women in the business world. Today, Iceland is considered the world’s champion in gender equality, with advanced mentoring schemes for women as can be found at Islandsbanki, the country’s largest financial institution. We also travel to France to see how ING Direct has revised its work schedules in order to allow women to reconcile professional and private life.