Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Slow Progress Ahead

Studies show that the percentage of female senior managers in large corporations continues to grow slowly. I consider a firm that initially has an entirely male management structure. If this firm suddenly shifts its behavior and begins to hire male and female managers in equal numbers and treats them equally, then the gender composition of the firm's managers will change over time. Using well-established mathematical methods, I derive equations that show how rapidly this change will occur. Using data from previously published studies to establish parameter bounds, I draw random samples for parameter values and use these to investigate how quickly the gender composition of a firm's management structure can change. I find that the gender composition at lower management levels changes quickly, compared to the upper management levels. (JEL J71)