It’s no secret that male CEOs dramatically outnumber female CEOs. But did you know that in America – in 2015 – women in chief executive roles are so sparse that they are outnumbered by men named John?
Similarly, it is widely known that male board members outnumber female board members. But did you know that there are more men named John, James, William or Robert on boards than there are women?
This research was discovered by Ernst & Young in a report about the number of women on S&P 1500 boards.
The report calculated that there are currently 2,150 women occupying any of the 13,850 available board positions on S&P 1500 companies. It also found that more of those positions – 2,200 – were occupied by men name John, James, William or Robert.
The figures for CEO positions was far worse. There are four times as many men named John, James, William or Robert currently serving as chief executives than there are women.
Shortly after this research was published New York Times economics reporter Justin Wolfers decided to see how the same ratio played out across different institutions. He created what he calls the “Glass Ceiling Index”.
Wolfers said the figures about men named John, James, William or Robert outnumbering all women in leadership positions in business is a clear indicator that the glass ceiling is alive and well – and thick – in corporate America. He decided to use the same test to see how the glass ceiling was faring in other sections of the country.
He decided the ratio of Johns, Jameses, Williams and Roberts to women would make up this index – therefore, if an institution had a ratio higher than 1.0, this means the Johns & co outnumber the women.
For example, this would mean the glass ceiling index for CEOs in large companies if 4.0. The index for board positions – based on the figures of 2,150 and 2,200 – is 1.03, meaning there are 1.03 Johns, Jameses, Williams and Roberts for every one woman holding a board position.
How did other institutions fare on the index?
Let’s start with the White House. As Wolfers explains, at this stage it is impossible to even calculate the index, as America has never elected a woman to the top job. But even if Hillary Clinton were to be elected president next year, the index would be 15. That’s 15 Johns, Jameses, Williams and Roberts to every one woman president.
In the Republican Senate, the index is 2.17 and in the Republican House of Representatives, it is 1.36. The democrats do far better – both in the House and the Senate, their index is 0.3, meaning – finally – women outnumber men named John, James, William of Robert.
In stark contrast to our own federal cabinet, Obama’s cabinet is indexed at 0.3 also, again meaning there are more women than there are men named John & co.
The figures aren’t so bad on the Supreme Court, where women outnumber Johns, Jameses, Roberts and Williams with a ratio of 0.3.
Perhaps the truly scary part is how these numbers relate to the index for the American population. In the US, Johns, Jameses, Roberts and Williams make up just 5.9% of the population. Women make up 51.2% of the population.
So the overall index of Johns, Jameses, Williams and Roberts to women in the population? 0.12.
f all things were equal there would only be 0.12 Johns, Jameses, Williams and Roberts for every woman in any institution or leadership pipeline.
Te reality is that for CEOs and presidents, Johns, Jameses, Williams and Roberts are dramatically overrepresented, and their female colleagues are dramatically underrepresented.