It’s International Women’s Day, so let’s take a look at some of the data that quantifies the business gender gap in wages and leadership opportunities.
Yesterday, I shared a slideshow filled with data about the business gender gap that has been published over the past two years. Today, I’m sharing information from a new study by Calvert Investments, Examining the Cracks in the Ceiling: A Survey of Corporate Diversity Practices of the S&P 100. The report examined differences related to diversity practices since the last time the study was conducted in 2010.
Key findings from the study include:
- 56% of S&P 100 companies have no women or minorities in their highest-paid senior executive positions. With each step up the corporate ladder, a woman’s chances of taking the next step up decreases.
- 19% of S&P 100 board of director members are women, which equates to only 8% of the highest paid executives.
- 98% of S&P 100 companies have women directors, and 86 companies have minority directors. However, only 37 companies in the S&P 100 have minority women on their boards.
- 19% of S&P 100 board members are women, which is an increase from 18% in 2010.
- 30 companies have added at least one woman to their boards since 2010.
Unfortunately, 39 companies in the S&P 100 do not disclose any employee demographic data publicly, which means consumers and investors cannot determine the effectiveness of their corporate diversity initiatives.
Based on the data that was accessible to evaluate the 10 diversity criteria used to create this report, the highest rated companies overall are Citigroup, Merck & Co., The Coca-Cola Company, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. The lowest rated companies overall are Berkshire Hathaway, Simon Property Group, National Oilwell Varco Inc., Ebay, and ApacheCorp.
What do you think? Are you surprised that there has only been a 1% increase in the number of women S%P 100 board of directors since 2010 or that only 8% of the highest paid executives are women?
You can follow the link to get the details and download the full report.
Susan Gunelius
Susan Gunelius is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Women on Business. She is a 30-year veteran of the marketing field and has authored a dozen books about marketing, branding, and social media, including the highly popular Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing, 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing for Dummies, Blogging All-in-One for Dummies and Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps. Susan’s marketing-related content can be found on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, and more. Susan is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She has worked in corporate marketing roles and through client relationships with AT&T, HSBC, Citibank, Intuit, The New York Times, Cox Communications, and many more large and small companies around the world. Susan also speaks about marketing, branding and social media at events around the world and is frequently interviewed by television, online, radio, and print media organizations about these topics. She holds an MBA in Management and Strategy and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and is a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).
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