Executives And Women In The C-Suite: A Case Study

"In 1950 about one in three women participated in the labor force. By 1998, nearly three of every five women of working age were in the labor force" (Heatherfield, n.d., para. 4). In 2008, the U.S. Department of labor estimates that women will make up 48% of the workforce (Heatherfield, n.d., para. 6). As the number of women in the workforce rises so do the numbers of women who hold higher titles such as Chairman, CEO, Vice Chairman, President, Chief Operating Officer, Senior Vice President, and Executive Vice President. This number has increased from 7.3% in 2000 to 9.9% in 2002 (Diversity statistics, 2006).

Findings and Conclusion: This research shows that women are still unrepresented in top management globally. The difference in performance of the companies in the same country and same industry implies that diversity serves a competitive differentiator. Certain companies focus on gender diversity and others focus on ethnic and racial diversity but no company in the top quartile focus on both. Companies which have greater diversity are able to attract top talent, improve internal and external customer satisfaction, improve decision making and hence improve

Despite big gains, women only make up slightly more than ten percent of big company chief financial officers. More than one-third of public companies had zero women senior officers, according to a recent survey from Catalyst, an organization aimed at expanding business opportunities for women. According to a recent study from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, a woman gets paid seventy-seven cents to every dollar a man makes. That’s a difference of more than $10,000 per year on average. Among recent college graduates, women make eighty-two percent of what men make. In their first year of work after graduation college, men make $7,6000 more than women on average, this is according to a fact sheet from Congress’ joint economic committee. The trend continues even after women began to rise up the corporate ladder, female worker make

In the United States, study after study continues to show that women have fewer opportunities to advance in the workplace than men. These disadvantages are a result of society’s views of women in leadership positions and how women may view themselves in these roles. Women have been making progress in terms of equality in pay and job positions, but significant gaps remain. Women who strive to be promoted into higher levels of responsibility in their companies often meet resistance that prevents them from achieving the goal of a senior or executive level of management. This barrier is referred to as the “glass ceiling” and it is a controversial issue in our country today. The glass ceiling called this because women are able to see the higher level positions, but can reach them because of an intangible barrier. One can look at the Fortune 500 companies, which are the most successful companies in the U.S. in terms of revenue to see how few women are in leadership positions. Clearly, women are significantly underrepresented in these companies, as less than 5 percent of these companies have female chief executive officers (CEO) today (Dockterman 105). Providing the opportunity for women to move into management positions, like CEOs, would bring a unique talent and a new perspective on how the company can operate to perform better (Buckalew 147). The “glass ceiling” is a real obstacle that creates an intangible barrier that puts women at a disadvantage in advancing in a company.

Why are there not more women in the upper ranks of corporate America? Is it because women slow down or stop career plans to spend more time caring for family? Or possibly because they are just less ambitious than men and don’t have the confidence? Simple answer: No. Something else is occurring whilst on their way to the top. Women are not surrendering their vocations in huge numbers. Parenthood actually builds their craving for winning advancements; and women by large don 't lack of aspiration or certainty that they can use to go up against difficult tasks. Yet when asked whether they want a top role in their companies or industries, a majority of women say they would rather not grab the brass ring.

Although in 2012, only 18 women served as CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. Furthermore, in a recent report, women only held 16.6% of board seats in 2012 in the fortune 500 companies (Aguilar). Women are somehow being held back from achieving their higher potential, and is is not due to lack of education. The department of education found that “140 women will graduate with a college degree at some level this year for every 100 men”(Aguilar). Most people believe the reason is because of the phenomenon of the “glass ceiling”. Many large companies do not hire women for the upper level positions, because they have always hired men, and many companies may believe that they do not see women in that position. This is also influenced by the media as well, as “women hold only 3% of clout positions in telecommunications, entertainment, publishing and advertising.”(Newsom 2011). With so few women leaders in the media industry, women are rarely portrayed in highly respected executives roles. This in turn communicates to young girls and the public in general that women are not supposed to hold these

This skewed representation has raised many alarms in outside circles on why the tech industry deals with such uniformity. In the show Silicon Valley this stereotype of women not being leaders is subtly perpetuated throughout the series. In episode one we are introduced to two companies that are competing against each other. The first company is Hooli incorporated which has a male CEO, looking closely in the boardroom the only gender represented is male, however the only females present in the office are the female secretaries. The same uniformity is present in the competing firm, male CEO, male president, male board members, and female secretary. Throughout the entire first season not one woman holds a position in leadership, and when we are introduced to a female character she usually holds a position working as an assistant to one of the male characters. Silicon Valley deals with the issue of not injecting women into higher power position, unfortunately many of these stereotypes are found in many industries around the world. The portrayal of women as being incapable of being good leaders leads to a male dominated managerial system. A study conducted by the Wall Street Journal finds that “Only ten percent of directors at Silicon Valley are women.” (Wells 2) this glass ceiling keeps women from reaching position that they are fully qualified for, just because they are perceived to be ineffective

The perception of there being a glass ceiling for women has been a popular mantra of most feminists and politicians in the past few years. Many feminists and politicians cite the percentage of women on corporate executive boards in Canada, which is still quite low as a key statistic signifying the existence of the ceiling . A study by non-profit group Catalyst states that 20.8 per cent of board seats at companies listed on the S&P/TSX 60 index were held by women as of October 2014. This is an increase from 17 percent in 2012 (CBC News, 2015). However, this is well below various European nations, such as Norway, Finland and France.

As a woman, don’t you want a job? Don’t you want to be the owner of a large business? Don’t you want to be the CEO of the largest company in the world? Being a woman can stop these dreams from becoming a reality. As stated by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA, 2015), in Australia only 12% of women hold chair positions, 17.3% in CEO positions, 23.7% in directorships and only 26.1% as the key management personnel. As seen by these statistics, men have taken over 70% of leadership positions in Australia and leading on from this, women result in having lower pay

How do you feel about women holding higher positions within corporations? In today’s society, there are several inequalities between women and men. These inequalities between women and men have been around since the beginning of time and will always be a factor. Gender inequality can be seen in many different ways across our society today. One major area that this inequality can be seen is in the workforce. There are many women who have jobs in today’s society, but there are not a lot of chances for women to obtain higher positions. Women do not receive the same chances to hold high positions within corporations as men do. Women who are in the workforce are constantly having to choose between work and family. Women also feel the need for whole-self authenticity, which means that one is true to one’s own personality and character even against external pressures. In this scenario, people are themselves at work as they are in their private life. Gender inequality in the workplace is a serious issue that affects women socially, economically, and physically.

I would like to nominate Lori Eaton, President of NextGen Information Services, Inc., for the Global Power 100 --- Women in Staffing. With tremendous drive and dedication, Lori has propelled our company to be the nationally award-winning consulting firm that it is today. Energetic, engaging and tenacious, Lori has taken NextGen beyond my expectation.

Over the past decade, fortune 500 companies have appointed women to top job positions for instance, from Mary Barra at General Motors to Indra Nooyi at Pepsi co. and Ginni Rometty at IBM (CIPD, 2015). Despite this career advancement, majority of women in middle and top management positions are still highly affected by this glass-ceiling in the workplace. In spite of the current state of female empowerment, notable achievements and involvement of women in high corporate settings, Powell and Graves (2003) states that only 10% of senior managers in fortune 500 companies are women, less than 4% of the uppermost ranks of CEO, vice-president and executives and less than 3% of top corporate earners. Statistics also suggest that as women approach the top of the corporate ladder, many appear downcast in the workplace. To understand the current situation of gender in the workplace, this section of this essay address some of the major issues associated closely to the existence of the glass ceiling and how this affects organizations today, it then recommends significant roles for HR to

Women entered the labor workforce in large numbers in the 1940s, yet over 70 years later debates over leadership effectiveness and gender differences are still ongoing. Through ingrained global and organizational biases, stereotypes, and conditioning, men and women are expected to bring bring two different skill sets to the boardroom.

In terms of different sectors within the industry, buyout firms are doing the worst. Only 10.5% of senior positions have a woman in charge, while the proportion is 14.0% in infrastructure, for example. Furthermore, in small private equity firms the situation tends to be worse. Women make only 9.7% of senior positions in firms with five or fewer such senior employees. In large firms, firms with over 20 high-level management positions, 13.9% of senior positions are held by women.

Even though numbers are slowly rising in the United States, there are still more men in executive positions than women. According to one survey, female workers only made up 43% of legislators, senior managers, and senior officials whereas male workers made up 57%. In congress, congresswomen make up only 17% of representation compared to congressmen making up 83% (Ferrante, 2011, p. 312). Gender stratification is one explanation for the tremendous gap. Ferrante (2011) describes gender stratification as the unequal distribution of opportunities and resources amongst male and female employees. (p. 311) For example, male workers have an increased opportunity to receive a promotion than a female worker. According to Tinsley (2013), women are more likely to receive executive positions when a company is doing well, rather than when a company is suffering. Some companies stereotype that women workers will leave the workforce soon to bear children, limiting their chances of achieving executive status (Ferrante, 2011, p. 316).