Where Are All the Women Leaders? [Infographic]

Over the past century women have made major strides towards equality with an ever-increasing number taking the reins in the worlds of business, law and politics. However, women still have a long way to go before reaching full economic and political equality.

One symptom of gender inequality is the depressing lack of women in leadership positions. Despite years of progress, women only make up a mere 12% of board seats and 6.3% of national leaders across the world. It’s evident that for every Sheryl Sandberg and Angela Merkel, millions of women across the globe are still losing out on leadership opportunities.

Where are all the women leaders?

In order to tackle the leadership gap, it’s necessary to first understand the factors that are holding off women from leadership positions. One such obstacle is the gender bias against women which may make it difficult for women to succeed in certain environments. Furthermore, the “motherhood penalty” has been shown to be a very real phenomenon meaning that upon having children, many women struggle in their professional lives.

Why do we need more women leaders?

Study after study has highlighted the benefits of having women at the top. Firstly, women can inject a breath of fresh air into organization leadership and communication styles. What’s more, numerous reports have found that a bigger presence of women leaders can result in increased business profitability, a healthy national economy as well as more innovative public policy.

If you are would like to find out more about women and leadership, take a look at the below infographic from the team at Trainwest.