Women beat men at most leadership skills … only 6% of CEOs are female, yet women outperform men on 85% of leadership capabilities.

August 23, 2022

The percentage of women in senior leadership roles in businesses is till incredibly, unacceptably low. Not just because its clearly unfair, but also because organisations are missing out on their talents.

Only 6.6% of S&P 500 CEOs are women, which is actually a record.

For centuries, there have been broad, cultural biases against women. Some suggest women elect not to aspire to the highest levels of the organisations, but much research shows that unconscious bias plays a significant role in recruitment and promotion decisions.

New research suggests that women are perceived by their managers, particularly male, to be slightly more effective than men at every hierarchical level and in virtually every functional area of the organization. That includes the traditional male-stereotyped areas of IT, operations, and legal.

Women were rated particularly strongly at taking initiative, acting with resilience, practicing self-development, driving for results, and displaying high integrity and honesty. In fact, they were thought to be more effective in 84% of the competencies that we most frequently measure.

6.6% is actually a “record high” in the number of female CEOs on the 500 list, but female representation in business leadership is still extremely low. In her new book, CNBC Senior Media and Tech reporter Julia Boorstin delves into the astounding hurdles women have to overcome to get to the top of the business world and the leadership qualities that biased minds frown upon despite their successful track record. “The characteristics women tend to lead with are actually more effective.”