A David by any other name…is still not a woman

Get ready to cringe.

The latest Glass Ceiling Index is now available from the New York Times. The index counts the women and men in important leadership roles in American life — including politics, law, business, technology, academia, film, and media.

This year, instead of simply reporting the very depressing statistic that women are only 4.1 percent of the chief executive officers (CEO) of the top 1,500 companies on the Standard & Poor (S&P) list, the writers went a step further. They found that male CEOs named John were 5.3 percent of S&P CEOs, and men named David were 4.5 percent.

Yup. That means there are more male CEOs simply named John or David that there are of ALL OF THE WOMEN CEOs for the top 1,500 companies in the United States.

Times reporters lamented that “fewer Republican senators are women than men named John — despite the fact that Johns represent 3.3 percent of the population, while women represent 50.8 percent. Fewer Democratic governors are women than men named John. And fewer women directed the top-grossing 100 films last year than men named Michael and James combined.”

These numbers should bother both men and women.  If more than half of the population does not have a strong voice in government, the media, and business, how does a nation expect to truly be representative? Even worse, how much of a nation’s potential is being wasted when half of the population does not feel comfortable in, or feels barred from, decision-making roles? Advertising agencies alone should have board rooms that are half women so they have some realistic input into what clientele want.

There are a lot of different opinions about why the gap in so vast. The Pew Research Center study on obstacles to female leadership shows many women believe the expectations are higher for female leaders than men, and women still carry the brunt of domestic responsibilities. (I tend to lean toward the idea that women have been socialized for centuries not to draw attention to themselves or their achievements, and to get along rather than get ahead.) As the Times story puts it, “Women also face double standards: People in power need to be assertive and ambitious, but women are often criticized for acting that way.”

All of this has a monetary toll. Women in the United States are falling further behind. The World Economic Forum in 2017 estimated the U.S. ranks 115th (out of 144 countries) in the wage gap. Only a few years ago, we were 75th. We are not making strides past earning 79 cents for every dollar a man makes. And that is the average. The American Association of University Women (AAUW) notes that when we factor in ethnicity, black women make only 63 cents, and Latina women make only 54 cents to every dollar a white male makes in the United States.

If only women had a nickel for every John and David we meet.

About the Author

Rachel Hatch, CCP, is the Assistant Director of Media Relations at Illinois State University. She works closely with the campus administration to craft messages, and employs her writing and editing skills to promote the work and achievements of faculty, staff, and students. Joining AWC in 2000, Rachel shares a deep belief in the empowerment of women inside and outside of the workplace. Her favorite phrase is “There is no such thing as the work-life balance. There is only life. To deny that is to make yourself sea sick on a see-saw of society’s making.” Rachel is also currently active in Leadership Illinois, an organization that promotes realizing leadership potential in women across the state. She holds a B.A. in journalism and an M.A. in American history from Western Illinois University. She received her Certified Communications Professional designation from The Matrix Foundation in 2016.