Massachusetts Leads With Highest Number of Female Bosses

A new map, created by TollFreeForwarding.com, has revealed the states that are the most and least progressive when it comes to women in management.

Mapped: Where women are most likely to be your boss in the US and beyond

• Women represent nearly 60% of the US workforce, but hold only 35% of senior leadership positions
• You’re most likely to have a female boss in Massachusetts and least likely in Nevada

If you work in Nevada or Mississippi, you’re least likely to have a woman as your boss, but in Massachusetts and Maryland, you’re most likely to report to women over men.

States where you’re most likely to have a female boss are: 

1. Massachusetts – 58%
2. Maryland – 56%
3. Colorado – 54%
4. Vermont – 53%
5. New Jersey – 53%

States with the least women in management are: 

1. Nevada – 38%
2. Mississippi – 40%
3. South Carolina 41%
4. Idaho 41%
5. Oklahoma – 41%

In the US, the percentage of women in management has only risen by 2% in the last decade, up to 8.1 million (41%), however there’s still a way to go for equal representation, as women make up well over half of the workforce (60%).

Despite significant positive steps for change in the US over the last decade, other countries have further to go in getting women in the CEO chair, with Yemen, Afghanistan and Pakistan only having 5% of management positions fulfilled by women.

Globally, if you live in Togo, Nigeria or Jamaica, your boss is most likely to be a woman, despite the fastest growth of female leadership since 2011 occurring in Turkey and Mauritius (+44%) and Pakistan (+43%).

There are more than 10 times as many companies run by men and according to new research¹, even though more women are achieving a doctoral degree, men with the same qualifications earn on average 47% more, leading many women feel devalued at work.

Despite 2021 having the highest ever recorded proportion of women in senior management roles rising to 35% in the US, new findings explain women find their workplaces less inclusive and discriminative than their male counterparts, making it harder to rise through the ranks.

The latest Women in the Workplace Report concludes: “The reasons women leaders are stepping away from their companies are telling. Women leaders are just as ambitious as men, but at many companies, they face headwinds that signal it will be harder to advance. They’re more likely to experience belittling microaggressions, such as having their judgment questioned or being mistaken for someone more junior. They’re doing more to support employee well-being and foster inclusion, but this critical work is spreading them thin and going mostly unrewarded.”

TollFreeFowarding spoke to Michelle Starr, author of Be Brown Brave: Guide to Supporting Women of All Color in the Workplace, offers her advice to aspiring female leaders:

“Be confident and assertive in the workplace. I encourage women to speak up and to make their voices heard, even in the face of resistance or pushback. I also stress the importance of building a supportive network, whether it is through mentorship, professional organizations, or online communities.”

To read more about the realities of women rising to the top in the workplace firsthand, visit the Toll Free Forwarding blog.

Sources:

https://www.zippia.com/advice/women-in-leadership-statistics/#:~:text=As%20of%202020%2C%2035%25%20of,positions%20at%20Fortune%20500%20companies

https://www.catalyst.org/research/women-in-management/

https://www.bls.gov/opub/geographic-profile/home.htm

https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-the-workplace

Author: Nadeya Hussain is a digital specialist with Searchlaboratory.com.