Closer Look: Why Are Women Underrepresented in Some Industries More Than Others

November 21, 2017 by John Harrington

Women are significantly underrepresented in senior leadership at American companies. According to progressive public policy research and advocacy organization Center for American Progress, just 14.6% of executive officers in the United States are women, and women hold only 21.2% of board seats on companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500.

Women often have a greater presence in senior leadership at apparel and retail companies, and very little senior management representation in energy, technology, and transportation companies.

To identify the companies with the most and least female leadership, 24/7 Wall St. examined data from research group LedBetter, which created an index composed of the share of women on the board, as well as the share of women in executive leadership positions, at 237 global corporations. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 10 companies with the largest shares of female executives and board directors and the 10 with the smallest shares.

Click here to see which companies have the most female leadership.
Click here to see which companies have the least female leadership.
Click here to see our detailed findings and methodology.

Of the 10 companies with the least females in leadership roles, three are car makers, three are consumer electronics manufacturers, and two are oil and pipeline services companies. Of the 10 companies with the most female leadership, five are apparel manufacturing companies and two are retailers.

Dr. Rita Gunther McGrath, a professor at Columbia Business School, Faculty of Executive Education, has written books on strategy and innovation and has spoken extensively on the subject of women in the C-suite.

“In many industries, there is a ‘type’ of leader that is thought to fit in, and women — and other underrepresented groups — often do not fit that type,” said McGrath via email. “This reflects people in power selecting people very much like themselves (and in many industries, that means white and male) for the roles that eventually lead to becoming a candidate for a leadership position.”

Research suggests that “more diverse leadership teams perform far better on creative tasks involving innovation and new ideas than less diverse ones,” McGrath said. “Less diverse teams are also more likely to develop dangerous blind spots when entire points of view are not represented. We see this problem in the tech, heavy manufacturing and financial sectors, for example.”

Technology and industrial companies have fewer women in executive roles because “relatively fewer women choose STEM-oriented careers (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), so the talent pool is relatively smaller,” McGrath said, mentioning the so-called “bro” bias in technology companies. For example, according to media reports earlier this year, ride-sharing company Uber’s culture is considered hostile to women.

Manufacturing is another industry where women have been historically underrepresented in executive positions. In 2014, the nonprofit organization Women in Manufacturing sponsored a survey among young women and women in the industry about perceptions of the industry versus experience.

The younger women outside the manufacturing industry did not consider that sector as a primary choice when deciding on a career. Among women working in the industry, the majority believed manufacturing offered interesting work and a variety of career paths. However, most women thought the industry could improve its recruitment and retention efforts targeting women.

Even though women are better represented in retail and apparel than other sectors, they are still far from being well represented. Indeed, McGrath challenges that perception. “While women are well represented at entry-level and middle management ranks, the numbers of women in very senior roles is still dauntingly small,” she says.

McGrath says another issue is that many selection committees for jobs such as the CEO role cut off their search for candidates over the age of 50. “By her early 50s, executive women are often enjoying an empty nest and a redoubled energy and enthusiasm for work, just as the age cutoff excludes them from roles for which they are eminently well-prepared,” said McGrath.

The Columbia University professor thinks many industries are making more of a push for diversity, not necessarily to be politically correct, but as a competitive necessity. “Many studies have found that women overwhelmingly represent the final decision-maker for a range of purchases, from consumer durable goods to corporate investments as company procurement officers,” McGrath pointed out. “Of special interest are firms such as pharmaceuticals, in which executives have recognized that diversity is a potentially valuable competitive advantage.”

McGrath cites the accounting and auditing sector as an area where companies have made an effort to recruit and retain female executives. “They have systematically studied the cost of losing women as they move up the ranks and concluded that not only is it costing them valuable talent, but also a fortune in replacement costs,” she said.

Brande Stellings, senior vice president of advisory services at Catalyst, a nonprofit working to improve the workplace for women, said female representation is still lacking on corporate boards.

“The reality is that no sector – as a whole – is doing well when it comes to representation of women on corporate boards,” Stellings said by email. “Men still represent almost four out of every five directors on the largest company boards, despite the fact that women make up almost half of the workforce.”

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