Promotions and hiring

Companies lay the groundwork for building a female talent pipeline through promotions and hiring.

 

Men are still promoted at higher rates

Compared with their overall share of employees, men are promoted more than women. With 39% of the total average workforce in the sample being female, only 37% of promotions go to women. However, the share of women being promoted is higher than the share of women currently in management (30%), which means promotions help growing the female talent pipeline.

At the same time, at 37%, the share of female promotions is clearly lower than the share of women in non-management (47%), which shows that the talent pool in non-management is not utilized well.

Comparison of female employees and women promoted

Women
Men
Promotions by gender
37%
63%
Distribution by gender (overall)
39%
61%
Distribution by gender (management)
30%
70%

Similar patterns with hiring as with promotions

In management positions, hiring trends slightly contribute to increasing the share of women: 36% of new hires are women compared to 30% already employed in management positions.

However, women are less likely to be hired into management roles compared to their overall share in the workforce. Thus, the same trend holds for management hires and promotions: They contribute to increasing the share of women in management, but the diverse talent pipeline remains underutilized.

Comparison of female employees and women hired into management

Women
Men
New management hires by gender
36%
64%
Distribution by gender (overall)
39%
61%
Distribution by gender (management)
30%
70%