New data analysis by the Peopleclick Research Institute (ëThe Instituteí) has revealed that US women had a smaller share of executive management positions in 2000 than in 1990, which has worrying implications for the UK, where equal opportunities legislation is less advanced than in the States. This finding is based on a comparison of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) information from the 2000 Census, which was published in December 2003, and similar data from the 1990 Census. The Institute is the first to analyse the data and release its findings.
As in the US, women hold a smaller share of executive management positions within the UK workplace, with men twice as likely to become managers (Labour Force Survey, Spring 2003, Office for National Statistics). The belief in the UK, however, is that the limitations placed upon women trying to attain senior positions are slowly being reduced over time.
The Peopleclick Research Institute has discovered that women in the US have lost ground at the highest levels, despite higher levels of education for women and greater numbers of women in the employment market. In 1990, women held 31% of US executive management positions, but by 2000, this had dropped to 18% - a 13 percentage point decrease for women. In addition, while the overall number of women in all management jobs increased by about one million, the actual female share of these positions decreased from 37.2% in 1990, to 36.4% in 2000.
Larry Cucchi, Director of Operations for Peopleclick, the global leader in total workforce acquisition technology and services, comments: ìThe conventional wisdom has been that women were increasing their share of management positions, especially in the US with its strict laws against discrimination. Many UK companies have equal opportunity policies, even if they do not operate under punitive legislation. UK companies, as well as US ones, should analyse their hiring and promotion policies, in addition to tracking, measuring and reporting on candidates to determine any adverse impact on women. This research should act as a catalyst for many employers to reassess their recruitment processes. On a more positive note, the number of minorities in management jobs grew by 830,000, with their share of these positions increasing from 13.0% in 1990 to 16.7% in 2000.î
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U.S Women lose ground in executive management positions
New census data reveal womenís share of management positions dropped, according to the Peopleclick Research Institute