In the United States, 47% of the workforce is women, which means we are essential to the economy. Unfortunately, suppose you were to assess people filling leadership roles in companies across America. In that case, you’d have no idea that women account for nearly half of all professionals because we simply aren’t represented. It’s a shame, too, because aside from this trend being entirely unfair for women, it’s also a disadvantage to businesses.
You don’t have to look too hard to find studies that show how much working women, explicitly working moms, are doing. Even though 71% of moms with children under 18 years old work outside the home, housework and childcare duties still disproportionately fall on our shoulders. It’s evident that women have incredible endurance for employment, are skilled in everything from organization and strategy to crisis and conflict management, and have what it takes to lead.
Still, regardless of all we have to offer, and how much we contribute to society, the vast majority of leadership roles continue to be held by men. For some reason, people continue to underestimate women—and it is a big mistake on their part.
Current Trends and Data
As previously mentioned, women make up just under half of the workforce in America, and in 40% of families, women are either the primary source of income or the sole breadwinner. Suffice to say, we are just about equal to men in terms of participation and financial responsibility, but we are still making 17.7% less annually than they are. But, while the pay gap is certainly an issue worth fighting for, so is the problem of the lack of women in leadership.
Here is some data to give you an idea of just how alarming the disparity is:
- Women represent 45% of the S&P 500 workforce but only hold 4% of CEO positions
- In a 2016 study of 22,000 publicly traded organizations globally, 60% had no female board members
- In 2020, for every 100 men promoted to first-level manager jobs, only 86 women received the same promotion (89 white women, 85 WOC)
- For every one women-run business, there are 13 companies run by men
- Only 7.4% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women
- Only 1 in 4 organizations rank advancing women into leadership roles among their top 10 priorities
The good news, though, is that there has been a steady upward trend of the number of women in leadership positions (both in business and in politics) over the last few decades, and in 2020 87% of mid-market companies had at least one woman in a senior management role. While it’s certainly exciting to know there is some progress happening, the problem is that there is still a division between the kinds of leadership positions women hold compared to men.
A 2020 study found that 40% of all human resources directors are women, while women only accounted for 17% of all chief marketing officer positions and 16% of chief information officer roles. Similarly, at all levels of business, women are over-represented in support and administration jobs. In contrast, men fill more roles in operations, research and development, and profit and loss. When it comes to the kinds of experience and skills necessary to be considered for CEO and board-level positions, administration and support aren’t regarded as essential. Still, operations, research and development, and profit and loss are critical roles. So, essentially, most women have the skills necessary to reach mid-or-senior-level management, but not executive-level.
Why Women Belong in Leadership Positions
These statistics are disappointing (to put it lightly) for several reasons, but they’re also somewhat surprising. Aside from the obvious fact that women are just as capable as men to do pretty much any function of leadership, there is a lot of evidence that shows women may be better suited to hold leadership positions.
In a survey of 2,250 adults, when asked which gender was more likely to have eight specific characteristics that are essential to leadership, women, and men tied for 2, men came out on top for 1, and women favored for 5:
- 50% said women were more honest, compared to 20% for men
- 38% said women were more intelligent, compared to 14% for men
- 80% said women were more compassionate, compared to 5% for men
- 47% said women were more outgoing, compared to 28% for men
- 62% said women were more creative, compared to 11% for men
- Men and women tied at 34% each for ambition
- Men and women tied at 28% each for hard-working
- 33% said women were more decisive, compared to 44% for men
These numbers are pretty incredible, and they align well with the results of another survey from 2021, which asked 65,000 people about their experience working during the pandemic. Out of all participants, those with women bosses were more likely to say they felt supported throughout 2020. Compared to those with male bosses, more employees with female managers said their supervisor provides emotional support, checks in on their well-being, ensures manageable workloads, navigates work-life challenges, and takes actions to prevent or manage burnout.
While compassion is often overlooked as an essential characteristic for someone in leadership, the 2020 pandemic proved otherwise. The difficulties of 2020 shed light on working conditions for people worldwide, which led to the great resignation, and one of the driving reasons behind the great resignation is toxic work cultures. So, it’s fair to assume that an employee with a supervisor who showed them compassion and empathy was much less likely to up and leave than another worker with a boss who lacked that fundamental characteristic.
In addition to generally treating employees well, a 2021 study found that women leaders are up to twice as likely to prioritize and spend a significant amount of time on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) work than male leaders. This work includes recruiting employees from underrepresented groups, supporting Employer Resource Groups (ERGs), and organizing events. The study also found that women in leadership were more likely than men to take allyship actions to ensure a safer and more equitable workplace.
In addition to their significant impact on company culture, research has shown that businesses with women leadership experience more growth than those without them. For instance, one study found that the rate of new business in women-owned businesses outpaced men-owned companies by 1.5 times. Similarly, another research study found that companies ranking in the top 25% for gender diversity were 15% more likely to bring higher than average financial returns than companies in the second, third, and fourth quartiles.
To sum it up, women in leadership are more likely to create positive work cultures and drive business growth. What company wouldn’t want these kinds of results from their executives and managers?
Representation Matters
Representation of women in leadership positions is dismal as it is, but it’s even worse for women of color (WOC). In 2019, out of all management positions, women held 43.1% of management positions, but when you break it down by race, white women held 32.3% of all management positions, Latinas held just 4.3%, Black women held 4%, and Asian women only held 2.5% of all management positions.
In addition to the same general characteristics all women in leadership bring, WOC also brings different perspectives and experiences that are important for leading (and retaining) employees and driving business. Research has found that companies ranking in the top 25% for racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to have higher than average financial returns than other companies. That same study also found that, in the US, for every 10% increase in racial and ethnic diversity on the senior executive team, earnings before interest and taxes rise by 0.8%.
Once again, it’s clear that a more diverse leadership team that includes women, specifically WOC, yields more positive results than an organization that men primarily run. Now, we just need companies to catch up.
Keep Pushing for Change
It’s fair to argue that anyone in a leadership role has a certain degree of power, but a woman in a leadership position is just a little more robust. We can’t ignore the fact that the traits and characteristics that have traditionally held us back are the very same ones that make us incredible leaders. The only way to prove this is by keeping our companies accountable and advocating for more diverse leadership. There is still a lot of work to do to shatter that glass ceiling. But we are powerful women, and if working motherhood has taught us anything, it’s that there’s very little we can’t accomplish.
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