Women make up 50 percent of the total U.S. workforce. But they make up less than five percent of all CEOs in Standard and Poor’s 500 companies index. Where are all the women CEOs? There are several answers to this question, according to a recent Bloomberg Businessweek article. Number one is that most executive women at companies in the S&P 500 are not in operational jobs, such as division heads or senior managers in charge of product lines. Fifty-five percent are in functional roles: lawyers, finance chiefs, and heads of human resources. Ninety-four percent of all S&P 500 CEOs, men and women, held senior operations positions before rising to the top job. The conclusion? The lack of women in operational positions is a major obstacle in their reaching the CEO level.
