Study after study is commissioned every year by a plethora of firms and institutions about the role women play in the world of business. These studies all arrive at the same conclusion; the executive branch of today’s workforce should be open to more women. It should be noted that today’s workplace is vastly different from that of 20 years ago. It is also important to recognize that while more women have “broken the glass ceiling” there is room for improvement on that front.
One of the more recent studies we came across is by the Kauffman Foundation, titled “Untapped Potential for Expanding Women’s Entrepreneurship Holds Promise to Grow the U.S. Economy.” While the title references the US, it could apply to just about any country.
Here is an excerpt of that study:
“Research shows that startup companies – particularly high-growth startups – are the most fruitful source of new U.S. jobs and offer the economy’s best hope for recovery. However, despite the fact that about 46 percent of the workforce and more than 50 percent of college students are female, and that women have risen to top positions in corporate and university hierarchies, they represent only about 35 percent of startup business owners. Their firms also tend to experience less growth and prosperity than do firms started by men.
“Overcoming the Gender Gap: Women Entrepreneurs as Economic Drivers,” a new paper from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, explores the reasons behind lower business startup rates among women and proposes actions that would help to realize the promise of female entrepreneurs in escalating the economy.
“There are plenty of highly qualified women in science and technology – industries from which the majority of high-growth companies are born,” said Lesa Mitchell, Kauffman Foundation vice president, advancing innovation, and the paper’s author. “More women are entering these fields than ever before. However, while women have broken through the glass ceiling, they seem to encounter ‘glass walls’ that keep them from venturing out of big companies or structured academic settings to launch their own firms at the same rate men do.”
Studies like this one from the Kauffman Foundation and others will continue for many years. A diversified workforce with women in senior roles starts with cultural shift. Some corporations have elevated women to senior management roles and have been the beneficiary of growth and profits. In contrast, there others that “like things just the way they are”. Time has a way of catching up to those who abhor positive change.
Our blogs typically focus on the advantages of time and attendance software in an organization. However, we thought it would be a refreshing change to comment on a subject that is of great importance in today’s workforce.
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