More Men in Executive Positions than Women: 10:1 Ratio

According to a study released in October by the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, women are grossly under-represented in executive positions and board seats. Of course, this comes as no surprise, but it’s good to see these statistics being officially and publicly released.
UC Davis Graduate School of Management and the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs and Executives studied the 400 largest publicly-held corporations in the state of California to compile the third annual “UC Davis Study of California Women Business Leaders: A Census of Women Directors and Executive Officers.” While the study was limited to the state of California, I think it’s safe to assume similar results would be found in other states throughout the country.
Here are some of the key statistics from the report:

• Women hold only 10.4% of the board seats and highest-paid executive officer positions. That’s one woman for every nine men in the top leadership roles at these 400 high-profile public companies.
• 122 (more than 30%) of California’s 400 largest public companies have no women in a top executive position or on the board of directors.
• Half of the 400 companies have no woman among their executive officers.
• 47% percent have no woman in the boardroom.
• Only 13 of these 400 companies have a woman CEO.

These results paint a disappointing picture, but with time comes change. I have to hope that females will continue to find more leadership roles in large and small companies over time.