A Quantitative Analysis of the Personal Characteristics and Workplace Experiences of Women and Men as Professional and Community Leaders

In the past, the subject of leadership in women has been confined to anecdotal figures who are remarkablefor their small numbers. Women leaders have emerged as a more common phenomenon in Americansociety in the last three decades, reflecting the transition in the status of women in society. According toDye and Strickland (1982), between 1970 and 1980, the total number of women managers andadministrators in the U.S. workforce increased over 100%. However, this change has not extendedthrough all levels of leadership. Hymowitz & Schellhardt found that by 1985 only 2.7% of the topexecutives and directors of AT&T were women and 8.3% and 15% of division and district managers werewomen. In contrast, 22% of second-level supervisors and 38.7% of first -level supervisors were women.The slow progress of women on this front has two possible explanations. One is "the glass ceiling," aterm that was coined in 1986 by Hymowitz and Schellhardt, two Wall Street Journal reporters. This is aninvisible barrier that blocks women from advancing to senior leadership positions in organizations. Analternative explanation to "the glass ceiling" might be a delay in the pipeline with appreciable numbers ofwomen only now reaching the point in their careers where senior positions are available.With increasing competition for leadership positions, women will likely encounter a growing number ofobstacles to promotion (Pipelines of Progress, An Update on the Glass Ceiling Initiative, 1992). In asurvey of female senior executives, one-third believed that the number of female executives in theircompanies would remain static or decrease (Business Week, June 8, 1992).In 1991, the author was a participant in a yearlong program run by a private, nonprofit organization forwomen professional and community leaders. Beginning that year, the author initiated a study of thesewomen.The goal of this study was to discern how factors of personal background and workplace experiencecompare in successful women and men leaders. It was then extrapolated that these factors might influencethe course of advancement for women leaders vis a vis men leaders