Gender Disparities in Business Persist

Women's higher education is not translating into higher labor force participation

Women in Europe and the U.S. are now the majority of college graduates, but they still make up a smaller share of the labor force. Italy's female employment rate, for example, is 25 percentage points below its male employment rate, and the U.S. rate is 12 percentage points lower. (Goldman Sachs)

Women are under-represented in management and top leadership roles

In the U.S., fewer than a third of the leading 1,500 companies had even a single woman among their top executives in 2006 ('Girl Power:' Female participation in top management and firm performance). In South Korea, 74% of the companies surveyed in 2007 had no female senior executives.¹

Few women sit on corporate boards

Across the European Union, women account for only 11 percent of the membership of governing bodies, such as boards of directors and supervisory boards (McKinsey). Women hold only 8.3% of board directorships in Australia, 13% in Canada, 14.3% in South Africa, and 15.1% in the United States (Catalyst).

Women tend to earn less than men for equal work

In the U.S., women still earn only 80 cents for every dollar that men earn. (U.S. Department of Labor). In Rwanda, female workers receive, on average, 22,239 Rwandan francs, compared to 42,956 Rwandan francs that men earn every week.²

Opting out is a popular choice for women and a serious reason for the gender gap in top management

Faced with the frustrations of career stagnations and the need for better work-life balance, educated and talented women continue to opt out of the workforce at much higher rates than men. A Harvard Business Review survey found that 37% of women voluntarily stopped working at some point in their career, versus 24% of men. Out of the 93% of women who take career breaks, only 40% find full time employment again. (Harvard Business Review)

2008 Women in Business in Australia, Canada, South Africa & the United States

Source: (Catalyst)

¹ Korean Women's Development Institute. 2007. "Survey on women as human resource." Korean Women's Development Institute, commissioned by Korea's Ministry of Gender Equality.

² Republic of Rwanda. 2007. "Survey of the Informal Sector 2006: Micro and Small Enterprises." Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Rwanda National Institute of Statistics, Kigali.