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Senior Female Leaders Impacted More Than Male Counterparts in Difficult Economy
January 20, 2010
A study on high potential talent has indicated that women at the top have been the hardest hit in the continuing economic situation. According to a report released by Catalyst, Opportunity or Setback? High Potential Women and Men During Economic Crisis, female executives “were more than three times as likely to have lost their jobs because of company downsizing or closure than their male peers: 19% for women and 6% for men.”
The report also provided the following statistics:
- 10% of overall talent reported losing their job due to company downsizing or closure (9% due to downsizing or restructuring and 1% due to company or firm closure). There were similar rates across all regions (Asia, Canada, Europe, and the United States)
- Overall rates among men and women were similar (12% for women and 10% for men)
However, it is the incredible difference in statistics of impacted executive level women versus executive level men that has me concerned. Previous Catalyst studies have already indicated that women’s advancement in corporate leadership has been stagnating. The numbers are now indicating that we may not only be stagnating, but heading in the reverse direction.
States Ilene H. Lang, President & Chief Executive Officer of Catalyst, “Exceptional circumstances require exceptional leaders. Now more than ever, as companies examine how best to weather an economy in crisis, we need talented business leaders, and many of these leaders, yet untapped, are women.”
Many of my blog readers might remember that in a previous blog I wrote about how a Catalyst report (The Bottom Line: Corporate Performance and Women’s Representation on Boards) found higher financial performance for companies with higher representation of women board directors in three important measures. Specifically, they found that, on average, companies with the highest percentages of women board directors outperformed those with the least by:
- Return on Equity: 53%
- Return on Sales: 42%
- Return on Invested Capital: 66%
What all of this information tells me is that companies need to work harder and increase their talent management efforts, specifically targeted at recruiting, developing, and retaining high potential women. I believe the investments companies make into recruiting and retaining talented women will be a significant part of their future success.
~ Lisa Quast
Sources:
Catalyst Report (Opportunity or Setback?): http://www.catalyst.org/publication/332/hipo
Catalyst Press Release: http://www.catalyst.org/press-release/141/catalyst-2008-census-of-the-fortune-500-reveals-women-gained-little-ground-advancing-to-business-leadership-positions
Catalyst Report (The Bottom Line): http://www.catalyst.org/publication/200/the-bottom-line-corporate-performance-and-womens-representation-on-boards
Topics: Tune into Stats | 2 Comments »
2 Responses to “Senior Female Leaders Impacted More Than Male Counterparts in Difficult Economy”
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February 15th, 2010 at 2:08 pm
The corporate world… is blind to the talents that women bring to the game…well duh.
Want to guess how many wealthy women have found greener pastures… on their own terms?
February 25th, 2010 at 10:01 am
[...] fact, it has Lisa Quast at Career Women Inc. quite concerned. She writes in a recent blog post, “Previous Catalyst studies have already [...]