November 17, 2010
Who’s counting? The UC Davis Study of California Women Business Leaders
By Steven Currall
Steven C. Currall is the Dean of the UC Davis Graduate School of Management. He is shown with Census co-authors Professor Don Palmer (left) and Amanda Kimball (right).
Over the past five years, the UC Davis Graduate School of Management has shined a spotlight on the gender diversity of top leadership positions in California’s largest public companies. Our findings paint a disappointing picture: On average, we’ve found that there is only one woman for every nine men in the executive suites and boardrooms of these high-profile firms.
Such a discrepancy may result from the choices women make regarding their careers, or it may result from the choices other business leaders make (perhaps unconsciously), or a host of other personal and social phenomena.
As we prepare to release our sixth annual “UC Davis Study of California Women Business Leaders” on December 2, it is notable that every year a large percentage of firms in the study have all-male leadership teams, and we have not seen a single company among the top 400 in California with an all-female leadership team. In fact, over the past five years, only three companies in our study have had equal number of men and women (50% female representation) in their executive suites and boardrooms: Bare Escentuals Inc. in 2009, Nara Bancorp in 2008, and Golden West Financial Corp. (later bought by Wachovia Bank) in 2005.
To view and download our 2010 study findings, check our website after December 2.
WHAT DOES THE DATA REVEAL?
Our results highlight the need for greater participation of women on corporate boards and in executive suites, and help creating these opportunities. While there is a large amount of research on the factors that determine the advancement of women at lower levels of private and public organizations, there is surprisingly little academic research on the factors that might impact women’s advancement to the highest levels of business. Clearly, there is much we do not know about the factors that might explain our results and discerning the answer is well beyond the scope of our study.
What our study does show is that for a state that considers itself a hip, progressive trendsetter, California looks like anything but that when you peek inside the executive suites and boardrooms of its 400 largest companies. There is much room for improvement here and nationwide, as our sister studies in other states and metropolitan regions confirm.
In today’s global marketplace, where diverse backgrounds, skills and experience are critical for strategic and operational decisions, having more women involved at the highest levels of business management and corporate governance can only result in more profitable and well-managed corporations. Our mission is to help make that a reality.
Going forward, it is important to look critically at how top companies recruit for and fill senior executive and board director openings with women relative to men. Identifying what the causes associated with the lack of women in the top leadership roles and what women can do themselves in order to change the picture will be discussed on December 7 at our joint event with Watermark: Empowering Women to Fill a Seat at the Table.
Steven, the findings are very concerning, but not surprising. I completed a phenomonology study of women who hold board positions in technology and life sciences positions late last year. The majority of the women I interviewed (14 out of 15) hold a public board seat in a technology. Each of them has tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to get other women on their boards. We have a long way to go and there are a number of potential reasons why.
I completely agree, the research is limited at best when it comes to women on boards. Research tends to place the glass ceiling at a lower level. Happy to share my research (common factors and competencies associated with some women who hold board seats) with anyone interested.
Best regards,
Dr. Patricia Fletcher
Patricia, I would love to read your research. More of this really needs to be done to fully understand all of the factors. Please feel free to contact me directly at bmark@fullcircleinstitute.com.
I am appreciative and excited that the research is being done by Davis every year and look forward to the discussion on December 7th.
My imagination is that some of this is about how we as women do or don’t support each other.
Best regards,
Barbara Mark, Ph.D.
So sorry,I failed to include my email address in my post. If you are interested in obtaining a copy of my research as per my comment above, please feel free to contact me directly at patricia.fletcher@sap.com
Hi Patricia and Barbara,
Thanks to both of you for the insightful comments and for the positive feedback. I am one of the authors of this year’s census, and have participated in the study since its inception in 2005.
I’m glad to know there are organizations such as Full Circle to support women in leadership positions. I really enjoyed an article on your website about attrition (“It’s Boring at the Top For Female Executives”). It also was a pleasure to read about the We Own It Summit (where I see Patricia gave a presentation in June). I have requested an invitation to attend in the future and look forward to that.
Patricia, you mention that your interviewees tried unsuccessfully to get other women on their boards. Can you tell me more about the barriers they faced? There clearly are women in the pool of executives, and if corporations do indeed draw their directors from the pool of executives, we might expect boards to make an increased effort to correct the imbalance by bringing more women into the mix. I’m very curious to hear what your research reveals.
It’s true that research places the glass ceiling at a lower level (I can comment on the data in our study next week after the event), but I wonder if the glass ceiling is the right place to look. For instance, the presence of more female role models at the top (e.g. female CEO’s) might go a lot further to change hiring and promotion practices than other measures that are directly targeted to the level of the glass ceiling. This is a question for companies to address as they attempt to implement change.
I look forward to meeting you both in person at the Watermark event on Dec. 7. I hope we can discuss ways to collaborate in the future. I’m interested in hearing your thoughts on how the GSM might add to this analysis to enhance next year’s census, as well as how we might partner with other organizations to expand this study in the future and to improve the situation for women at the top.
Amanda Kimball