Northouse (2013) describes a leadership gap as a situation “whereby women are disproportionately concentrated in lower-level and lower-authority leadership positions then men” (p.354). While this may be an accurate description for many industries and organizations, it is certainly not the case in the Commercial Foodservice Equipment and Supplies Industry (FES). Nor is this the case at my company. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Although no concrete statistics exist, based on my 13+ years in my industry I can say the following with a very high degree of confidence: entry level sales and marketing positions are predominately male (over 90%), and upper level positions are filled by a majority of females. My company is actually over-represented by females at the Director level and above. Here are the upper level positions at my company: CEO – female, CFO – female, CCO – female. VP of Operations – female Director of Supply Chain – female, Director of Marketing – female, Director of Sales – male (me). While my company may be the extreme, many of our competitors are very similar. I could very easily name multiple Directors and Vice Presidents that are female, while the majority of their sales reps and rep group principals are male.
Northouse details the existence of the gender gap as being a result of three factors: human capital, gender differences, and prejudice (Northouse, 2013, p.354-358). Of these, the only area that I can see in my industry is prejudice. This is especially true when it comes to the existence of the cross-pressures that female leaders confront: the need to be masculine and tough, but not to be “too manly” (Northouse, 2013, p.359). Indeed, I have heard it stated many times that a demanding male leader is tough, while a demanding female leader is described as a…. There are other comments, conversations, and behaviors that exist to demonstrate the prejudice that the women in my industry face, but it has not hindered their progress or ascension to the top. In fact, in yet another anomaly, some of the most respected leaders in the industry are female.
So it appears that in my industry, the gender gap is reverse.
Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice (Sixth Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA, United States: Sage Publications, Inc.
ads292 says
This is an interesting post which has highlighted whether or not males are on an equal playing field with females in the Commercial Foodservice Equipment and Supplies Industry (FES).
Your post got me thinking, and I don’t know you industry but is there any reason as to why females may be more effective in this industry or is it just luck? My guess is that there would be a reason as you mention that its not just your company.
In the U.K the nursery and child education industry is dominated by females, again I do not know the industry well but I can only hazards a guess that the traits and skills of the females are more suited towards the industry and its requirements. Are there any other industries that are dominated by female leaders?