Shaking things up or business as usual? The influence of female corporate executives and board of directors on women’s managerial representation

Previous theory and research suggests that workplace gender composition at the highest organizational levels should play a crucial role in reducing gender linked inequalities in the workplace. In this article, we examine how the presence of women in top corporate positions influences female managerial representation at the establishment-level. Using a unique multi-level dataset of 5679 establishments nested within 81 Fortune 1000 corporations, we find that having more women on corporate boards, but not in executive positions, at the firm-level is associated with greater female managerial representation at the establishment-level. The results also show that women are more likely to be in management positions when employed in young, large, and managerially intensive workplaces, as well as those with a larger percentage of female non-managers. Implications for future research and policy implementation are discussed.

► We examine the relationship between female corporate leadership and women’s managerial representation in Fortune1000 firms.
► Multi-level modeling is based on data of approximately 81 parent companies and 5600 worksites.
► More women on corporate boards, but not in executive positions, is associated with greater female managerial representation.