Determining Factors for Female Success

“Women are breaking the glass ceiling”
“The wage gap between men and women is becoming smaller”
“Inequality between men and women on the work floor is decreasing”

Yes.

But… 

The extent to which this happens depends on a lot of different factors, it seems….

First of all, the geographic area you are active in plays an important role in the inequality of women versus men. The European Union is a worse student than the Unites States. In North America, the percentage of women in a leadership role is a lot higher than in the European Union.

The sector you are active in also plays an important role in the ability to break the glass ceiling. In some sectors the wage-gap is a lot wider than in others. The aviation sector is the worst player in this unfair game. In this sector, the difference in wages between men and women amount to a whopping 33%. Unfortunately, they are not the only ones. Clothing producers for example also have a wage difference of 25% between men and women in the same function.

Luckily, there are also some sectors that have a very small wage gap. The wood industry, specialised construction projects and the manufacturing of metals for example have a wage gap of only 1 or 2%. Good news however is the fact that in most sectors, the wage gap is declining compared to some years ago. Other research shows that the accounting sector and education sectors make women feel most supported, whereas marketing, advertising and media bear higher levels of discrimination. The same research confirmed that women working in engineering and manufacturing feel that their gender has been hindering their career. 

Of course some firms are better in helping their female staff smashing the glass ceiling than others, no matter what geographic area or industry they are in. The National Association for Females Exectuives (NAFE),  is a division of working mother magazine. It is one of the largest women’s professional associations in the United States. The NAFE Top Companies for Executive Women recognizes corporations that moved women into top executive positions and made room for a culture that identifies, promotes and nurtures successful women. In the 2015 top ten companies KPMG, EY, IBM, Procter & Gamble and Marriot International Appeared. The winner was Abbot. 

Equiped with this knowledge, ambitious women can be a little more selective in the companies, places and sectors they want to work in!