Over the years there have been numerous articles written about why it is harder for women to be promoted. There is a gender pay gap, where in 2020, women earned 84% of what men earned (Barroso & Brown, 2021). This does not account for the fact that women are more likely to work lower paying jobs because it is more probably for a women to leave the workforce for a period of time to either raise children or take care of an aging relative (Goldin, 2014). Due to taking care of a family, women are more likely to require irregular work scheduling, which results in lower paying jobs (Golden, 2015).
What many people do not consider is that we, as women, celebrate minor victories allowing men to pat themselves on the back like they achieved something by allowing us these successes. This past summer there was an article written that celebrated that “The female CEOs on this year’s list of Fortune 500 just broke three all-time records” (Hinchliffe 2021). The article goes on to brag about the number of women running fortune 500 businesses was 41, two of those were black women and one woman was running the number 4 company and how these were milestone achievements. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 57.4 percent of women participate in the labor force compared to 69.2 percent of men, which is only a difference of 11.8 percent participation and yet we are celebrating women making up only 8.1% of the Fortune 500 (Hinchliffe 2021).
The MBA degree has reported a significant drop in attendance, but women still make up 39% of that enrollment. With these types of numbers why are women not making up a higher percentage of CEOs in these Fortune 500 companies? When women celebrate these minor accomplishments, it allows people to believe that we are ok with what we are handed. Why do we need to have more women in power when we are excited to have 41 out of 500? Can you imagine a man writing an article congratulating the male gender for having accomplished only 8.1%? Lorraine Hariton, the CEO of the global gender equality firm Catalyst, told CNBC that “we continue to see steady profess in the Fortune 500” (Connley 2021).
The problem is that women are still seen as intimidating, aggressive or bossy when they stand up for themselves and when women advocate for themselves, they are seen unfavorably (Gillett 2020). Men and women alike believe the gender bias and overestimate the ability of men and underestimate our own abilities. Until we, as women, unite and say enough is enough, we will continue to celebrate these mild accomplishments and congratulate each other on a job well done.
References
Abramson, N. R., & Moran, R. T. (2018). Managing cultural Differences: Global leadership for the 21st century (10th ed.). Routledge.
Barroso, A., & Brown, A. (2021, May 25). Gender pay gap in U.S. held steady in 2020. Pew Research Center. Retrieved September 9, 2021, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/05/25/gender-pay-gap-facts/.
Connley, C. (2021, June 2). A record 41 women are Fortune 500 ceos-and for the first time two black women made the list. CNBC. Retrieved September 9, 2021, from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/02/fortune-500-now-has-a-record-41-women-running-companies.html.
Gillett, R. (2020, April 17). Gender bias could make it harder for women to become ceo, according to a recent study. Business Insider. Retrieved September 9, 2021, from https://www.businessinsider.com/why-women-almost-never-become-ceo-2016-9.
Golden, L. (n.d.). Irregular work scheduling and its consequences. Economic Policy Institute. https://www.epi.org/publication/irregular-work-scheduling-and-its-consequences/.
Goldin, C. 2014. “A Grand Gender Convergence: Its Last Chapter.” American Economic Review, 104 (4): 1091-1119.
Hinchliffe, E. (2021, June 2). The female CEOs on this YEAR’S Fortune 500 just broke three ALL-TIME RECORDS. Fortune. Retrieved September 9, 2021, from https://fortune.com/2021/06/02/female-ceos-fortune-500-2021-women-ceo-list-roz-brewer-walgreens-karen-lynch-cvs-thasunda-brown-duckett-tiaa/.
Hou, C.-Y. (2020, February 6). More women are in mba programs, but work remains to be done. TheHill. Retrieved September 9, 2021, from https://thehill.com/changing-america/opinion/481715-more-women-are-in-mba-programs-but-work-remains-to-be-done.