Research

Women in Management: Quick Take

Aug 11, 2020

GLOBAL

Globally the Share of Women in Senior Management is Increasing Incrementally1

In 2019, the proportion of women in senior management roles globally grew to 29%, the highest number ever recorded. In 2020, this percentage remains the same.2

Eighty-seven percent of global mid-market companies have at least one woman in a senior management role in 2020.3

The proportion of women in senior leadership differs by role:

  • Women are over-represented in support functions like administration, while men tend to be concentrated in operations, profit and loss, and research and development—all viewed as critical experiences for CEO and board-level positions.4
  • In 2020, 40% of human resources directors are women, compared to 17% of chief marketing officers and 16% of chief information officers.5
The proportion of women in senior leadership differs by region:6
Region Percentage of Women in Senior Management
Africa 38%
Eastern Europe 35%
Latin America 33%
European Union 30%
North America 29%
Asia Pacific (APAC) 27%
The Higher Up the Corporate Ladder, the Fewer Women

A 2020 analysis by Mercer of over 1,100 organizations across the world found a leaky pipeline for women in leadership:7

  • Executives: 23%
  • Senior managers: 29%
  • Managers: 37%
  • Professionals: 42%
  • Support staff: 47%

ASIA-PACIFIC

In Australia, Men Dominate Senior Levels of Management8

In 2019, women represented just over a third (36.7%) of all managers in Australia.9

Women are less likely to reach the top levels of management. In 2019, women accounted for:10

  • 33.1% of senior managers
  • 30.0% of executive managers
  • 30.2% of key management personnel
  • 17.1% of CEOs/Heads of Business
India Has the Third-Lowest Global Representation of Women Managers, Ahead of Only South Korea and Japan11

In 2019, women held only 8% of management roles, 9% of business management roles, and were only 2% of CEOs in India.12

Japan Has Set Targets for Increasing Women in Leadership Positions by 202013

As of 2019, in private corporations, women accounted for:14

  • 18.3% of section chiefs
  • 11.2% of directors

CANADA

Men Continue to Hold Over 90% of C-Level Executive Roles15

In Canada, women accounted for slightly more than a third (35.3%) of all managers, and 31.5% of senior managers, in 2019.16

Women were only 43 of the 538 named executive officers among Canada’s 100 largest publicly traded corporations in 2020, down from 53 in 2019.17

  • Women were only 17.9% of executive team members in 2019 on the S&P/TSX composite index, up from just 15% in 2015.18

In the C-suite, the most common position for women among executive officers is CFO (12) or 2.2%.19

EUROPE

Just One Out of Three Managers in the EU is a Woman20

Women are about half of all those employed in the EU and yet were just 18% of senior executives in 2019.21

Percentage of Women Managers in Selected European Countries, 201922
Country Percentage of Women Managers
European Union (27) 36.9%
Sweden 43.1%
France 37.3%
Germany 30.4%
Spain 37.7%
Netherlands 30.5%
Switzerland 34.9%
United Kingdom 37.6%

Among the largest publicly listed companies in the European Union (EU-28) in 2020, only 19.3% of executives and 7.9% of CEOs are women.23

UNITED STATES

Despite a Record-High Number of Fortune 500 Women CEOs in 2020, There are Still Nearly 13 Companies Run by a Man for Every Company Run by a Woman24

But before they even get close to the glass ceiling, women face barriers in advancing to their first management roles.25

In the United States, women were nearly half (47.0%) of the labor force26, but only slightly over a third (40.0%) of managers in 2019.27

In 2019, white women held almost a third (32.3%) of all management positions.28

Women of color held a drastically smaller share of management positions:29

  • Latinas: 4.3%
  • Black women: 4.0%
  • Asian women: 2.5%

In 2019, women made up the highest share of managers in human resources (74.8%). Their share of management in selected other industries was:30

  • Medical and health services (69.7%)
  • Food service (46.5%)

Women are falling behind early in their careers. If first-level women managers were hired and promoted like men, there would be 1 million more women in management over the next five years.31

In 2019, women employees represented:32
All Women Women of Color
C-Suite 21% 4%
Senior Vice President 26% 5%
Vice President 30% 7%
Senior Manager/Director 34% 9%
Manager 38% 12%
Entry Level 48% 18%

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Full list of Catalyst Quick Takes.

Catalyst, Break the Cycle – Eliminating Gender Bias in Talent Management Systems (October 9, 2018).

Catalyst, The Double-Bind Dilemma for Women in Leadership (August 2, 2018).

Catalyst, Quick Take: Women on Corporate Boards.

Catalyst, “Women CEOs.”

The Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board, “Filling the Pipeline Advancing More Women Into the C-Suite and On Corporate Boards,” (2019).

 

How to cite this product: Catalyst, Quick Take: Women in Management (August 11, 2020).

  1. Grant Thornton, Women in Business 2020: Putting the Blueprint into Action (2020): p. 3.
  2. Grant Thornton, Women in Business 2020: Putting the Blueprint into Action (2020): p. 4.
  3. Grant Thornton, Women in Business 2020: Putting the Blueprint into Action (2020): p. 3.
  4. International Labour Organization, Women in Business and Management: The Business Case for Change (2019): p. 44-45.
  5. Grant Thornton, Women in Business 2020: Putting the Blueprint into Action (2020): p. 5.
  6. Grant Thornton, Women in Business 2020: Putting the Blueprint into Action (2020): p. 7.
  7. Mercer, Let’s Get Real About Equality: When Women Thrive 2020 Global Report (2020): p. 17.
  8. Rebecca Cassells and Alan Duncan, Gender Equity Insights 2020: Delivering the Business Outcomes (BCEC|WGEA Gender Equity Series, March 2020).
  9. Rebecca Cassells and Alan Duncan, Gender Equity Insights 2020: Delivering the Business Outcomes (BCEC|WGEA Gender Equity Series, March 2020): p. 14.
  10. Rebecca Cassells and Alan Duncan, Gender Equity Insights 2020: Delivering the Business Outcomes (BCEC|WGEA Gender Equity Series, March 2020): p. 14.
  11. Richard Kersley, Eugene Klerk, Anais Boussie, Bahar Sezer Longworth, Joelle Anamootoo Natzkoff, and Darshana Ramji, The CS Gender 3000 in 2019: The Changing Face of Companies (Credit Suisse Research Institute, 2019): p. 62.
  12. Richard Kersley, Eugene Klerk, Anais Boussie, Bahar Sezer Longworth, Joelle Anamootoo Natzkoff, and Darshana Ramji, The CS Gender 3000 in 2019: The Changing Face of Companies (Credit Suisse Research Institute, 2019): p. 15.
  13. Gender Equality Bureau, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, Gender Equality Bureau, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, “The Fourth Basic Plan for Gender Equality,” Women and Men in Japan 2020 (2020).
  14. These categories are standard ranks or equivalent positions in Japan. Gender Equality Bureau, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, “The Fourth Basic Plan for Gender Equality,” Women and Men in Japan 2020 (2020).
  15. Rozenzweig & Company, The 15th Annual Rosenzweig Report (March 2020): p. 5.
  16. Statistics Canada, “Table 14-10-0297-01: Labour Force Characteristics by Occupation, Annual (x 1,000)” (2020).
  17. Rozenzweig & Company, The 15th Annual Rosenzweig Report (March 2020): p. 5.
  18. Catalyst, Women in Leadership at S&P/ TSX Companies (2020).
  19. Rozenzweig & Company, The 15th Annual Rosenzweig Report (March 2020): p. 7.
  20. “Only 1 manager out of 3 in the EU is a woman…” Eurostat News Release, March 8, 2020.
  21. “Only 1 manager out of 3 in the EU is a woman…” Eurostat News Release, March 8, 2020.
  22. Eurostat, “Employees by Sex, Age and Occupation (1 000)” (2020).
  23. European Institute for Gender Equality, “Largest Listed Companies: CEOs, Executives and Non-Executives,” Gender Statistics Database (2019).
  24. Catalyst, Historical List of Women CEOs of the Fortune Lists: 1972-2020 (May 2020).
  25. Vanessa Fuhrmans, “Where Women Fall Behind at Work: The First Step Into Management,” Wall Street Journal, October 15, 2019; Jess Huang, Alexis Krivkovich, Irina Starikova, Lareina Yee, and Delia Zanoschi, Women in the Workplace 2019 (LeanIn, McKinsey & Company, October 2019).
  26. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 3: Employment Status of the Civilian Noninstitutional Population by Age, Sex, and Race, 2019,” Current Population Survey, Household Data Annual Averages (2020).
  27. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 11: Employed Persons by Detailed Occupation, Sex, Race, Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity, 2019,” Current Population Survey, Household Data Annual Averages (2020).
  28. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 1: Employed and Experienced Unemployed Persons by Detailed Occupation, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity, Annual Average 2019,” Current Population Survey (unpublished data) (2020).
  29. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 1: Employed and Experienced Unemployed Persons by Detailed Occupation, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity, Annual Average 2019,” Current Population Survey (unpublished data) (2020).
  30. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 1: Employed and Experienced Unemployed Persons by Detailed Occupation, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity, Annual Average 2019,” Current Population Survey (unpublished data) (2020).
  31. Jess Huang, Alexis Krivkovich, Irina Starikova, Lareina Yee, and Delia Zanoschi, Women in the Workplace 2019 (LeanIn, McKinsey & Company, October 2019): p. 14.
  32. Jess Huang, Alexis Krivkovich, Irina Starikova, Lareina Yee, and Delia Zanoschi, Women in the Workplace 2019 (LeanIn, McKinsey & Company, October 2019): p. 9.