Nearly 47 percent of U.S. workers are female. Women own close to 10 million businesses. Almost 40 percent of all managers are women, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 2016. The majority of managers in human resources, social and community services, and education administration are female (bls.gov). Those are the statistics. Gender equality at work has been an important topic in workplaces, educational institutions, and the news. But what’s the perception of women in leadership roles? Do people prefer male or female managers? Let’s look at data that illustrates how this preference has changed over the years:
2010:
90% of Dr. Ella L. J. Edmondson Bell’s female Dartmouth MBA students said that they’d prefer a male manager.
2014:
GALLUP found that both genders still preferred a male boss in 2014; 26% of men and 39% of women said they’d prefer a male boss if they were taking a new job.
2017:
GALLUP’s latest 2017 poll illustrates an evolution of perceptions; 55% of Americans had no gender preference for a boss; 23% said they would prefer a man and 21% said they would prefer female managers. Over the years, women have consistently said they preferred a male supervisor. However, this percentage was at a new historical low of 27% in 2017, illustrating that women are now less likely to prefer a male boss than in the past.
Uncover more data specific to the agricultural industry in the AgCareers.com Gender Roles and Equality in Agribusiness Survey Report:
How does the agricultural industry measure up? More than half of ag employers surveyed in the 2017-2018 Agribusiness HR Review said that their proportion of female employees within their workforce has grown over the past five years.
AgCareers.com polled more than 2,000 people in the ag industry in 2015 for the Gender Roles & Equality in Agribusiness Survey. Key findings indicate positive associations between gender and equality in ag, but also some areas with room for improvement:
• Both men and women felt that there was more gender equality in agribusiness than in the overall professional world.
• Male respondents felt more respected in the agricultural workplace than females.
• Responses indicate a disparity in pay between genders, with men typically earning more than women in agribusiness.
• There was also a difference in employment levels, with a significantly higher percentage of men in a President/CEO role, Director, and Management positions.
• A significantly higher percentage of women than men hoped to advance to a higher-level position in the future.
• There was no discrepancy between genders in their willingness to relocate for career advancement.
• Ninety percent or greater of both genders felt that women were an integral part of agribusiness.
• More than 80% of both genders felt that the attitude toward women working in agribusiness has changed for the better in the past ten years.
• Nearly 90% of women felt optimistic about their opportunity for advancement in ag, while only 56% felt optimistic about their opportunities for advancement outside of agriculture.
• More than 70% of women felt outnumbered by men in agribusiness.
• Women reported having more male mentors than female mentors in agriculture.
To discover more details about gender perceptions in the ag workforce, download a full copy of the AgCareers.com Gender Survey Report.
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