1 Center for American Progress | The Women’s Leadership Gap
The Women’s Leadership Gap
Women’s leadership by the numbers
By Judith Warner March 7, 2014
They earn almost
60 percent
of undergraduate degrees, and
60 percent
of all master’s degrees.
2
They earn
47 percent
of all law degrees, and
48 percent
of all medical degrees.
3
They earn more than
44 percent
of master’s degrees in business and management, including
37 percent
of MBAs.
4
They are
47 percent
of the U.S. labor force, and
59 percent
of the college-educated, entry-level workforce.
5
Women are
50.8 percent
of the U.S. population.
1
And yet…
Alhough hey hold almos 52 percen o all proessional-level jobs,
6
American women lag subsanially behind men when i comes o heir represenaion in leadership posiions: • Tey are only 14.6 percen o execuive officers, 8.1 percen o op earners, and 4.6 percen o Forune 500 CEOs.
7
• Tey hold jus 16.9 percen o Forune 500 board seas.
8
• In he financial services indusry, hey make up 54.2 percen o he labor orce, bu are only 12.4 percen o execuive officers, and 18.3 percen o board direcors. None are CEOs.
9
• Tey accoun or 78.4 percen o he labor orce in healh care and social assisance bu only 14.6 percen o execuive officers and 12.4 percen o board direcors. None, again, are CEOs.
10
Women make up a majority of the U.S. population
2 Center for American Progress | The Women’s Leadership Gap
• In he legal field, hey are 45.4 percen o associaesbu only 25 percen o noneq-uiy parners and 15 percen o equiy parners.
11
• In medicine, hey comprise 34.3 percen o all physicians and surgeons
bu only 15.9 percen o medical school deans.
12
• In inormaion echnology, hey hold only 9 percen o managemen posiions and accoun or only 14 percen o senior managemen posiions a Silicon Valley sarups.
13
Furthermore…
• Alhough women conrol 80 percen o consumer spending in he Unied Saes, hey are only 3 percen o creaive direcors in adverising.
14
• Teir image onscreen is sill creaed, overwhelmingly, by men. • Women accouned or jus 16 percen o all he direcors, execuive producers, pro-ducers, wriers, cinemaographers, and ediors who worked on he op-grossing 250 domesic films o 2013,
15
and were jus 28 percen o all offscreen alen on broadcas elevision programs during he 2012-13 primeime season.
16
• When, however, here are more women behind he camera or a he edior’s desk, he represenaion o women onscreen is beter: Films writen or direced by women con-sisenly eaure a higher percenage o emale characers wih speaking roles.
17
A stalled revolution
Te las decades o he 20h cenury brough considerable progress in women’s proes-sional advancemen in he Unied Saes. Te gender wage gap narrowed, sex segrega-ion in mos proessions grealy declined, and he percenage o women climbing he managemen ranks seadily rose. Alhough he rapid rae o change o he 1970s and 1980s began o slow in he 1990s and 2000s, as he narrowing o he gender wage gap salled
18
and he percenage o women in managemen jobs sagnaed,
19
a noable increase in women’s represenaion in very op posiions did coninue: • In 1980, here were no women in he op execuive ranks o he Forune 100; by 2001, 11 percen o hose corporae leaders were women.
20
• From 1997 o 2009, women’s share o board seas in S&P 1500 companies increased 7.2 percenage poins, or 94 percen, and heir share o op execuive posiions increased by 2.8 percenage poins, or 86 percen. Te share o companies wih emale CEOs increased more han six-old.
21
In recen years, however, he percenage o women in op managemen posiions and on corporae boards has salled.
22
3 Center for American Progress | The Women’s Leadership Gap
• Teir presence in op managemen posiions oday remains below 9 percen.
23
• Te percenage o women on all U.S. corporae boards has been suck in he 12.1 per-cen o 12.3 percen range over he pas decade.
24
• A almos 17 percen, women’s represenaion on Forune 500 boards is slighly higher, bu i hasn’ budged in eigh years.
25
Women of color face an even wider gap
Te represenaion o women o color in corporae leadership roles is worse sill. Women o color are 36.3 percen o our naion’s emale populaion and approximaely 18 percen o he enire U.S. populaion.
26
Tey make up abou one-hird o he emale workorce.
27
And yet…
• Women o color occupy only 11.9 percen o managerial and proessional posi-ions.
28
And o hose women, 5.3 percen are Arican American, 2.7 percen are Asian American, and 3.9 percen are Laina.
29
• Women o color hold only 3.2 percen o he board seas o Forune 500 companies.
30
• More han wo-hirds o Forune 500 companies have no women o color as board direcors a all.
31
How does the United States measure up to other countries?
In privae-secor women’s leadership, no so badly:• We’re number six in women’s economic paricipaion and opporuniy on he World Economic Forum’s 2013 Gender Gap Index o 136 counries.
32
Bu in he public secorand in our percenage o emale legislaors in paricularwe lag ar behind many counries:• Te Unied Saes currenly ranks 60h in women’s poliical empowermen on he Gender Gap Index.
33
• Te world average or he percenage o women in naional parliamens is 21 per-censlighly above he 18 percen in he U.S. House o Represenaives.
34
• Finland, Iceland, and Norway lead he way, wih 43 percen, 40 percen, and 40 per-cen emale legislaors, respecively, in 2012.
35
• I’s been esimaed ha or a counry such as he Unied Saes, which has a winner-ake-all voing sysem raher han a sysem o proporional represenaion and no quoas, i will ake unil near he end o his cenury o reach a level o 40 percen legislaive paricipaion by women.
36
Reward Your Curiosity
Everything you want to read.
Anytime. Anywhere. Any device.
No Commitment. Cancel anytime.