The number of women replacing men in C-suite positions in America reached a six-year high in 2014, with 70% more women being appointed to executive roles previously held by men.
In 2013, 61 women took over C-suite roles from men, and in 2014 that number skyrocketed to 103. The number of women taking over these roles from other women also increased from 45 to 52. Even the number of women being replaced by men dropped by 25%, from 116 in 2013 to 87 in 2014.
These statistics may reflect the fact that the overall turnover rate of executives hit its highest point since the global financial crisis in 2014. 1341 CEOs left their roles in 2014, meaning more replacements had to be made than any other year since 2008. It is encouraging, however, that the percentage of these new appointments that are female is rising.
While these figures are encouraging, women are still underrepresented in the top C-suite roles. Currently, only 26 women are serving as CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. While this means women represent only 5% of Fortune 500 CEOs, it is an improvement on previous figures. In 1995, this number was zero.
These statistics are largely reflected in the Australian corporate sector as well. The Workplace Gender Equality Agency recently discovered that women currently make up only 17.3% of CEOs and just 26.2% of the top three layers of corporate management.
These dismal figures persist despite the fact that women’s enrolment in business education continues to rise. For the first time, more than half of the total MBA applications submitted in NorthAmerica in 2014 came from women. So why does the gender gap persist at senior levels of business?
The Pew Research Centre has conducted studies to show that women are still held to higher standards than men whenapplying for top jobs.
“There’s a sense that when women go for that top job, they can’t just be good enough, they have to be better than the men they’re competing with. Maybe it’s a gender discrimination hangover from the past. It’s surprising that women make up half the labor force and are outpacing men in their educational attainments,” said Kim Parker, director of social trends research at the Centre.
Let’s hope these C-suite statistics point to a trend of increasing female representation in all top-level management positions. Let’s hope it also proves women are being considered as potential replacements for departing male executives more frequently than ever before.