Chapter 48: Women's Leadership in Corporate America

Catherine H. Tinsley & Emily T. Amanatullah

Women's leadership in corporate America The statistics documenting women's advancement paint a mixed picture. On the one hand, although women's representation in the U.S. workforce is near equal to that of men's (49.8% as of fall 2009; Belkin, 2009), women are consistently underrepresented in upper management (Catalyst, 2007; Gutek, 1993; Wells, 2001) and receive less compensation when controlling for career type, level, age, and education (Schneer & Reitman, 1995; Stroh, Brett, & Reilly, 1992). For example, in 2008 women made up 50.8% of managerial, professional, and related positions in the U.S. labor force, yet they held only 15.7% of corporate officerships in the Fortune 500, 15.2% of Fortune 500 board seats, and 3.0% of Fortune 500 chief executive officer (CEO) positions (Catalyst, 2009). Moreover, the average full-time but young (16–24) female worker earns 91% of what young men earn; however, as time goes on her relative wage rate declines (for ...

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