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Women Missing From Key Leadership Positions
Kellye Whitney, 01-25-2010
According to Catalyst’s 2009 census of the Fortune 500, women are missing from critical business leadership, and that doesn’t make much sense because there are many reasons to include women in senior-level roles.
“One, women have been getting higher numbers of degrees, including graduate degrees, for practically a generation in this country,” said Jan Combopiano, vice president and chief knowledge officer for Catalyst. “They are educated, talented people who are going to lead our economy into the future. They are also the customer, the client, the decision maker in business and at home. If women are not included in the business itself, we’re missing vast opportunities for growth.”
Combopiano suggested that there is no role women should not play in the workplace, as they are represented in all industries, including government and education; thus they should be represented in a fair way in business. Currently, however, she said women are vastly underrepresented.
The 2009 census, which examined the Fortune 500 executive officer pool, confirms that women’s role in top management does not mirror their place in the talent pool or in the marketplace. Women made up 13.5 percent of executive officer positions and 6.3 percent of top earner positions. Nearly 30 percent of companies surveyed had no women executive officers at all, and less than one-fifth of companies had three or more women executive officers.
Data also revealed that women held 15.2 percent of board seats during the past five years. Women of color held only 3.1 percent of all board director positions, compared to 3.2 percent last year. Though Combopiano said the slight dip is not statistically significant, what is important is that women of color are a miniscule portion of board representation, and their numbers are not growing at all.
Diversity executives can help women break into roles where they will affect key business operations and contribute in ways that will impact the bottom line, but Combopiano said women must be given opportunities to showcase their talents and decision-making abilities.
“We’ve seen that if women are included in key line positions and key business development roles, that leads to more business development roles, to higher positions, to women being role models for lower-level women who then can look up and say, ‘There are women up there; I can make that, too.’”
Essentially, Combopiano said there is a kind of loop effect that takes place once women take on more complex leadership roles in business: Women in top positions ask for more opportunities, they get more opportunities, and the cycle continues as progress filters throughout the different ranks of an organization, and women lead more women up the path.
But women often need a helping hand to get into these positions. Combopiano said a lack of access to mentors or champions and informal networks, which are critical to help people develop vital relationships, can hinder progress.
“A great strategy for companies to take is to make sure high-potential programs, rotational programs [or] anything that would involve women getting more experience are being offered to them,” she said. “Even if women don’t raise their hands, their managers, mentors [and] sponsors need to make sure they get those opportunities. Men are more likely to say, ‘I’m ready to take that position,’ even if they don’t feel totally confident they’re ready. They’ll say, ‘I’m going to do it,’ whereas women want to feel more confident in their skills.
“For the past few years, we’ve said to companies, you have to help women get to that place where they will raise their hands. As a manager, supervisor or mentor, it’s your responsibility to help women to get into that place.”
“Doing nothing is not enough,” Combopiano said. “Companies really need to take a hard look at what they are doing for women, and is it working? If it’s not, there are plenty of companies that are [offering] wonderful, innovative programs, policies and activities that are helping women advance in the workplace. There are great ideas out there, and I would encourage all companies to go out there and look and find what works for them.”
