More Women Are Taking Up Leadership Roles, But Progress Remains Slow

McKinsey’s most recent Women in the Workplace study has been released, and it shows that more women are being placed in higher-level positions across Corporate America. 

While this is good news and follows the trajectory seen since 2017, the growth remains “modest.” 

According to the study, 60% of men made up management positions, 63% made up senior manager director positions, 68% made up Vice President positions and 74% made up C-suite positions.   

In comparison, women in management were found to take up 40% of the total workforce, while 36% were in senior manager roles, 32% were in Vice President positions and 26% had a C-suite title.   

This represents around 3% to 6% increase across these roles since 2017, indicating progress in the corporate world, but sluggish growth in comparison to the roles taken up by men.  

“For every 100 men promoted from entry level to manager, only 87 women are promoted, and only 82 women of color are promoted,” the firm stated. 

“As a result, men significantly outnumber women at the manager level, and women can never catch up. There are simply too few women to promote into senior leadership positions.”  

Due to the pandemic-driven exodus of women from the workforce, McKinsey says this discrepancy could become much worse unless leaders and employers open more opportunities for female professionals to flourish and grow. 

“To put the scale of the problem in perspective: For every woman at the director level who gets promoted to the next level, two women directors are choosing to leave their company.”