Women account for 50.8% of the US population, hold 57% of all undergraduate degrees, and approximately 60% of all master\u2019s degrees. And even though they hold about 52% of all management-level jobs, American women cannot keep pace with men in terms of representation when it comes to top leadership roles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As male vs. female CEO statistics show, it\u2019s the profit and loss roles or P&L responsibilities such as leading a brand, unit, or division, that set executives on the track to becoming a CEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other hand, women who advance into C-suites – the \u201cchief\u201d jobs in companies – typically take on the roles such as head of human resources, legal, or administration. Although all of these functions are extremely important, the line of work they focus on doesn\u2019t involve profit-generating responsibilities, which rarely makes them a path to running a company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why does the percentage of CEOs that are female remain low in all parts of the world? There isn\u2019t a simple answer to this question. Several studies have shown that it\u2019s the fusion of work-life constraints, early professional trade-offs, and firmly established attitudes towards women in power and the skills and traits that make a good leader that can explain why the careers of equally ambitious and capable men and women often take such different turns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s take a look at some of the most interesting findings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(McKinsey & Company)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the same period, the percentage of women in the C-suite went up from 17% to 21%. All women, especially those of color, remained significantly outnumbered in senior management positions. However, prior to the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the representation of female workers in corporate America was slowly trending in the right direction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
(McKinsey & Company) <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Based on the survey results published by McKinsey & Company, there\u2019s a leaky pipeline for women in leadership. In 2020, female workers accounted for 47% of entry-level positions, 38% of management roles, and 33% senior management\/director roles. Women were entrusted with under one third (29%) of all vice president positions in American organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(McKinsey & Company)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This gap was even larger for women of color as only 71 Latinas, and 58 Black women received a promotion. Consequently, women remained underrepresented at the managerial level holding just 38% of manager positions, while men accounted for 62%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(McKinsey & Company)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Furthermore, 36% of women felt pressured to work more, in comparison with 27% of men. At the same time, 54% of C-suite women reported that they constantly felt exhausted, and so did 41% of men in similar positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(McKinsey & Company)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Women in leadership positions are more likely than men in senior-level roles to take a public stand on racial and gender diversity and champion the advancement of employee-friendly programs and policies. Women CEOs are also more likely to sponsor and mentor other female workers. According to the results of a recent survey, 38% of women in senior-level positions currently mentor or sponsor at least one woman of color, compared to only 23% of men in the same roles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Fortune, Statista)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2021, the number of women appointed to CEO positions in America’s 500 highest-grossing companies reached an all-time high. However, the new record still only translates to approximately 8% of female representation at the top of the country’s largest public businesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the plus side, the number of women CEOs of Fortune 500 companies almost doubled in comparison with 2018 when there were 24 females leading the nation\u2019s biggest businesses. Calls for diversity and inclusion in the highest echelons of America\u2019s business world are starting to bear fruit as the number of female Fortune 500 chief executive officers increased for the third consecutive year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The top five biggest female-led Fortune 500 businesses as of August 2021 are CVS Health (rank four), Walgreens Boots Alliance (rank 16), General Motors (rank 22), Anthem (rank 23), and Citigroup (rank 33). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Fortune)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the first time, two Black women are running Fortune 500 businesses – Roz Brewer of Walgreens Boots Alliance (rank 16) and Thasunda Brown Duckett of TIAA (rank 79).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before Duckett and Brewer started their new jobs in 2021, only one Black woman – Ursula Burns, former Xerox chief – had ever been appointed CEO at a Fortune 500 business on a permanent basis. After Burnes stepped down from the role in 2017, and, with the exception of Bed Bath & Beyond’s Mary Winston, who worked as interim chief for a few months in 2019, Black female chief executive officers have been missing from the Fortune 500 list ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Fortune)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fraser\u2019s appointment marked huge progress for the financial industry. Much like Dick’s Sporting Goods chief Lauren Hobart, Clorox chief Linda Rendle, new Coty CEO Sue Nabi, Walgreens Boots Alliance\u2019s Roz Brewer, Thasunda Brown Duckett of TIAA, and CVS\u2019s CEO Karen Lynch, Fraser took over from a male CEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Fortune)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The number of women in CEO positions in the Fortune 500 hasn\u2019t been growing steadily throughout the last two decades. There were 24 female chiefs in 2015, 21 women CEOs in 2016, and 32 women running Fortune 500 businesses in 2017, while that number dropped to 24 in 2018. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Equilar)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to a study published in May 2021 comparing a male CEO salary vs. a female CEO salary, women have outpaced men in total pay but remained underrepresented in executive positions. Equilar\u2019s study indicates that Lisa Su, the chief executive officer of Advanced Micro Devices, was the highest-paid woman for the second consecutive year and the highest-paid CEO overall in 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Heidrick & Struggles)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The highest percentage of newly-appointed female CEOs was in Ireland (15%), while the lowest was in Brazil (0%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is according to a paper that analyzed the backgrounds of chief executives leading 965 of the largest companies in 20 markets around the world. It sought to identify the skills and experience that shaped their path to the top while taking different male vs. female CEO statistics into account. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Morningstar)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to a study that explored the gender gap in US companies, the number of male executive officers is seven times higher than the number of women holding the same positions. More than 50% of the companies analyzed didn\u2019t have a single female on their lists of executive officers. Jackie Cook, the author of the Morningstar report, found that online retail giant Amazon didn\u2019t have any women among its highest-paid executives as of 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Business Insider)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking of male managers vs. female managers, statistics reveal that women who don\u2019t negotiate at all are 67% less likely to receive the same negative feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Grant Thornton)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As 2019 saw a jump of 5% compared to 2018 (amounting to a total of 29%), 2020 represents a leveling off of the progress made during the previous year. This lack of movement doesn\u2019t necessarily reflect a failure of companies to address the existing gender gap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Grant Thornton)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The number of female CEOs and senior managers has risen by almost 20 percentage points over the last few years. For comparison, this figure stood at 68% in 2015 and 68% in 2017. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Working Mother Research Institute)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Only 41% of female survey participants, as opposed to 64% of male respondents, said they have a network of coaches, mentors, and sponsors offering them career guidance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Working Mother Research Institute)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, women CEO statistics indicate that 74% of female employees understand what the specific requirements are for advancing to the highest-paying roles in their companies even though they don\u2019t receive this type of information directly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Working Mother Research Institute)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, 65% of women express they are satisfied with the way their careers are progressing, and so do 78% of men. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Working Mother Research Institute)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of those women who aspire to become CEOs, 6% are first-level managers (as opposed to 13% of men) and 39% are executives. The same goes for 40% of men hoping to take on the role of chief executive officer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Catalyst)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Female vs male CEO statistics compiled by an NGO during a review of 353 Fortune 500 companies show that the differences were most apparent in facial services, consumer discretionary, and consumer staples industries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Women account for 50.8% of the US population, hold 57% …<\/p>\n