"Women on the Verge of Corporate Power in Latin America"
Simmons School of Management’s Center for Gender in Organizations, in partnership with Ernst & Young, surveyed 172 companies in six countries: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru to determine whether Latin American women are making progress in advancing through the corporate hierarchy.
Survey findings show that women in Colombian business are in a remarkably good position; in businesses in the Southern Cone countries of Brazil and Argentina women are moderately well represented and Mexican businesses continue to lag the region in gender equity. Women are most likely to hold management positions in companies in the pharmaceuticals/health services sector and in wholesale distribution/consumer retail businesses, and least likely in information systems companies. Women are making inroads in the finance and accounting job functions. However, survey data challenges the “pipeline” argument for women’s advancement into senior management, revealing that women rise into the second management tier but fail to make it into the top tier. Yet although women in Latin America continue to face a glass ceiling, the survey found that companies are increasingly adopting discretionary policies and programs to facilitate gender equity.
Filed under MBA News and SOM News
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