Question: Women comprise 46.5% of the U.S. workforce, 49% of all managers, 16% of upper managers, and 2% of the Fortune 500 CEO's. What major factors contribute to this imbalance, influencing a woman's ability to reach the top in today's corporate world?

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Sheila Wellington
Former President,
Catalyst
author of Be Your Own Mentor
www.CatalystWomen.org Catalyst is the nonprofit organization working to advance women in business.

Gretchen Tibbits
President,
National Association for Female Executives (NAFE)

Tina Sung
President,
American Society of Training & Development (ASTD)

Dr. Judy B. Rosener
Graduate School of Management, University of California, Irvine,
www.gsm.uci.edu/~rosener/
author of America’s Competitive Secret: Women Managers

Helen Drinan
President and CEO,
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)

Teresa Cavanagh
Director
FleetBoston's Women Entrepreneurs' Connection
www.fleet.com

Azriela Jaffe
syndicated columnist,
www.azriela.com
author of Starting from No: Ten Strategies to Overcome Your Fear of Rejection and Succeed in Business

Debra Pestrak
motivational speaker and trainer,
author of Playing with the Big Boys
www.mostpowerfulwomen.com/index.html

Sheila Wellington
Former President,
Catalyst
author of Be Your Own Mentor
www.CatalystWomen.org Catalyst is the nonprofit organization working to advance women in business.

Catalyst finds a number of factors continue to hinder women's advancement in corporate America. First, women tell us that "male stereotyping and preconceptions of women" is one of the biggest barriers they still face - not blatant sexism, but outdated ideas rooted in stereotypes about women's abilities and commitment to their careers. Other obstacles impeding women's progress include "exclusion from informal networks of communication" and "lack of mentors." Women often feel excluded from casual situations and social settings (drinks, lunches, teeing off on the golf links) where deals are discussed, introductions are made, and information is passed along.

Catalyst's years of research reveal that having a mentor is a crucial key to success. Informal mentoring has always occurred between men in corporate America. A senior man takes a younger man under his wing, shows him the ropes, introduces him to important people, and eventually recommends him for high visibility assignments.  As women entered, however, that type of mentoring did not occur as naturally. Women were left to navigate the political waters of the organization on their own. Women of color seem to feel the exclusion from informal networks and the lack of access to influential others even more acutely than do white women.

Women need to become their own mentors, availing themselves of tools that will help them devise short- and long-term career strategies, gain visibility in the workplace, create opportunities, advance their careers, balance work and life, and much more.

Gretchen Tibbits
President,
National Association for Female Executives (NAFE)

Unfortunately, there are still a lot of factors. Today, as your statistics show, qualified women ARE in the pipeline, but too few of us are at the top. 

Some companies do "get it." Look to lists like NAFE's corporate sponsors and benefit providers, and Working Woman magazine's Top 25 Companies for Executive Women. However, at many companies institutional bias still remains. While overt discrimination may be mostly gone, many times women are still excluded from the informal networks that are in place. As a result, women are overlooked in discussions of who should be groomed or tapped for that next step. Many women also find themselves in staff jobs, lacking the line experience necessary for the next promotion. 

We find more and more that women "drop out" of the corporate pipeline when they reach middle management, some because of lifestyle decisions, but many out of frustration. The result of that frustration: Women are starting businesses at the rate of 2 to 1 compared to men.

Tina Sung
President,
American Society of Training & Development (ASTD) 

Today’s female executive needs to possess a skill set comprised of competencies that continues to evolve because of technology, organizational culture, diversity and the changing needs of the work force. A woman in an executive role must be a learning zealot, not only understanding the core and technical aspects of her organization, but the culture and relationships that make it up as well. A competent leader may have complete understanding of business trends and models, market analysis tools and the financials, but if the underlying emotional intelligence is lacking, your organization may suffer. Cultivating the best in people at every level can truly define the success of any executive in a leadership role. I encourage women who aspire to be a CEO one day, not only to have strong business acumen and polished organizational skills, but to also have an equally strong sense of self, and know that you are only as good as the relationships you foster and cultivate. I believe that women who are trying to climb the ladder of success may be using old models of “what it takes to get ahead.” Leadership roles today are so much more complex, and both men and women need to understand these changing dynamics.

Dr. Judy B. Rosener
Graduate School of Management, University of California, Irvine,
www.gsm.uci.edu/~rosener/
author of America’s Competitive Secret: Women Managers

Factors which hamper women who wish to obtain postions of power have little to do with women, and much to do with organizational culture. Based on my research, one of the main organizational obstacles for women is the cultural "mind-set" I call the "one best model." This model suggests that to be a leader or successful means to think and act like a male. Since men are uncomfortable with women because they don't think and act like themselves, they tend to see them as deficient. I believe that the discrimination that results from this discomfort is subconscious---not purposeful. I feel it illustrates what I call "sexual static"....the feeling of confusion, irritation, and discomfort men feel working with women who are not like them. Like static on the radio, men don't understand the source of the static, or how to fix it. At the same time, there is increasing acknowledgement that the attributes associated with women, i.e. the ability to share power and information, multi-task, deal with ambiguity, and build consensus, are particularly effective in today's global environment. This is threatening to men because the glass ceiling for those below it (mostly women) is the floor for those above it (mostly men). When the ceiling for women is removed, so is the floor for men, thus they have a fear of falling. In order to remove the glass ceiling, organizations need to develop a culture that sees women as a resource not a problem. In essence, they need to discard the "one best male model" mind-set, and advance a mind-set that sees the word difference as "added value."

Helen Drinan
President and CEO,
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)

Major factors which contribute to the imbalance in women’s participation at the highest levels of the U.S. workforce include the volume of women actually in the pipeline to the top, choices women make themselves, and selection criteria used by decision makers. 

From a pipeline perspective, it is actually amazing to see how many women have progressed to higher levels of management given that discrimination against women for advancement was still acceptable until the late 70’s. In less than 30 years, the make-up of the managerial workforce has become half female at middle management; to see up to 12% in upper management is fairly predictable in this relatively short period. 

For their own reasons, many women who have family responsibilities make important choices in favor of work-life balance which keep them out of the competition for top jobs. Nobel prize winning economist Professor James Heckman found in his research… “that women who could have earned the highest wages often were not in the workplace…” and “…choose not to work for wages. What they’re working on instead is child-rearing, building a home or something outside the home they value more highly than paid work.” Presumably these potential high wage earners might also be candidates for high level jobs ­ but they are not seeking them. 

Finally, when decisions are made on top-level positions, the criteria for selection of men and women are often different. In research conducted at the Simmons College Graduate Program in Management, it was determined that men are most often selected for top jobs based on perceived potential, while women are selected for actual performance. If women were given the same opportunity based on potential as men are, clearly more would have opportunities for advancement to the highest levels.

Teresa Cavanagh
Director
FleetBoston's Women Entrepreneurs' Connection
www.fleet.com

In my opinion, the glass ceiling is one of two career barriers that exist for women seeking senior management positions in corporate America. The other one is "glass walls". Having made it through the glass ceiling, a woman has the title of a senior manager, but she is often not fully acknowledged or included among male counterparts.

When there are more women in positions of responsibility for managing a P&L, or heading revenue producing lines of business, not the traditional staff roles of HR and Marketing, then we will see more women being considered for senior management. 

Having a mentor or asking for assignments that will develop these opportunities is key to getting on the track to the top. All too often I am asked to counsel career-focused women who have a resume filled with project management experience rather than a progression from project management to mid-management to management responsibilities. 

Taking risks by reaching outside of your comfort zone is another way to start the road to the top. Start with small reaches, then build upon your successes with growing confidence. Yes, I can !!

Azriela Jaffe
syndicated columnist,
www.azriela.com
author of Starting from No: Ten Strategies to Overcome Your Fear of Rejection and Succeed in Business

I suggest an unpopular possibility -- that a significant majority of women are choosing not to be in the top ranks. The victim stance says that if only we could, we would, but the mean men are keeping us out. This is true in some circumstances. Equally true -- it really is not possible to "have it all". Many women choose to sacrifice career success to at least some degree, in order to enjoy connection in a deeper way to their husbands and children. Yes, it's possible to be a working mom at the highest level in a company, but we're fooling ourselves to say that nothing is sacrificed. Perhaps there are some women who consider it too high a price to pay. Okay, shoot me, this opinion is not beloved by women who have a legitimate beef -- but I also think we must make it okay for some high powered executive women to admit that maybe they aren't really shooting for the top, because the sacrifices in family time and personal balance are not worth the reward. 

Debra Pestrak
motivational speaker and trainer,
author of Playing with the Big Boys
www.mostpowerfulwomen.com/index.html

Our societal norms and expectations are the greatest hindrance to women's advancement in business. 

1. There are still men out there who believe women should be at home raising children.

2. Many women do not have the self-confidence to realize that they can get what they want in life.

3. Some women feel guilty about not having the time to spend with their children that they would like to have.

4. Society has limiting expectations of how women should act and not act.

5. Some women are not aware of the way their behaviors are perceived. 

The workplace is male dominated. Ninety-four percent of the all policy making in the Fortune 500 companies is done by men. Since most of us are more comfortable being around people like ourselves, men tend to stay in their comfort zone and promote more men. Finally, women need to take responsibility for the choices and the decisions they make. If a woman is not achieving her goals in her present situation, she needs to go someplace else where she will be valued.