How Much Longer to Break the Glass Ceiling? 50 Years, Research Says

New Research Estimates Gender Equality at Executive Levels by 2070

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Mar 06, 2020, 15:15 ET

SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of International Women's Day, The Myers-Briggs Company, a Certified B Corp™, is sharing two new research studies around gender, diversity and management. Both pieces of research were recently presented at the British Psychological Society's Division of Occupational Psychology Annual Conference in Stratford-upon-Avon, England by John Hackston and Nikhita Blackburn.

Women, Minorities, Personality and Leadership Roles

How much longer until we break the glass ceiling? 50 years at the highest executive levels, according to new research from The Myers-Briggs Company around gender, diversity and management.

Currently, women make up less than 10% of executive directorships in FTSE100 companies.* In addition, less than 4% of executive directors in the top 150 FTSE companies describe themselves as black or of minority ethnicities^. And while the underrepresentation is common knowledge, Hackston hypothesizes that personality differences between leaders and non-management level employees, which would be greater for women than for men, might be one factor contributing to the lack of gender and ethnic parity at the highest levels.

"We looked at data from 2004-2018 of nearly 1.8 million people for this study," says John Hackston, Head of Thought Leadership at The Myers-Briggs Company. "Representation of women in leadership is improving, but still lags. Based on this data on women in leadership positions, the current trend optimistically points to gender parity in management levels by 2030, but is less optimistic regarding the number of men and women at the highest levels of companies, which won't be equal until 2070. However, when it comes to racial diversity, no such consistent trend to move toward equality appears."

"Interestingly, personality differences in how men and women prefer to make decisions (Thinking or Feeling in the Myers-Briggs^® personality framework) exacerbate these effects," says Hackston.

While many have discussed personality bias being a partial contributor to gender inequality in management (such as Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders in Harvard Business Review and more recently Unconscious Personality Bias Keeps Women from Leadership – And Costs Companies in Forbes), The Myers-Briggs Company's research backs up the assumptions with nearly 15 years' worth of data around gender, ethnicity, personality and management level.

Men: More Assertive During Conflict than Women

Research, presented during the conference by Nikhita Blackburn, Thought Leadership Lead Consultant at The Myers-Briggs Company, shows that men are more likely to use an assertive mode to deal with conflict than women and, at higher organizational levels, both men and women are more likely to use an assertive mode.

This research analyzed data from 2004 – 2019 of over 400,000 people who completed the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI^® assessment). The TKI framework reveals five different ways that people usually handle conflict, influenced by levels of assertiveness (seeking to satisfy their own needs) and cooperativeness (seeking to satisfy other's needs). "Differences in conflict style between men and women were found at all levels in the organization, and these contribute to the different leadership styles of men and women.

It also plays a part in how leaders are seen by others. If men and those in higher leadership positions tend to use a more assertive conflict style, those with cooperative styles aren't as likely to be seen as 'leadership material', even though research suggests that these leadership styles more often used by women are likely to be more effective,**" says Blackburn.

"Helping people recognize the benefits of different conflict styles is a first step in breaking down biases. The problem is the stereotype of what an effective leader looks like – it's just not an accurate portrait and our data suggests that this stereotyping can have big effects when it comes to selecting candidates for leadership positions, often disadvantaging women."

This research and more can be found at: http://bit.ly/mbti-iwd

*Vinnicombe, Doldor & sealy, 2018

^Spencer Stuart, 2017

**Eagly, A. H., Johannesen-Schmidt, M. C., & van Engen, M. L. (2003). Transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles: A meta-analysis comparing women and men. Psychological Bulletin, 129(4), 569–591. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2003-06077-007

About The Myers-Briggs Company
In our fast-changing world, your edge lies in harnessing 100 percent of your talent – at work, at home, in education, and everywhere in between. Your success and fulfillment aren't just about what you know, they hinge on your relationships and interactions with others. The Myers-Briggs Company helps organizations around the world improve teams, develop inspirational leaders, and solve the most perplexing people challenges. We empower individuals to be the best versions of themselves by enriching their understanding of themselves and others. As a Certified B Corporation, The Myers-Briggs Company is a force for good. Our powerfully practical solutions are grounded in a deep understanding of how significant social and technological trends affect people and organizations. And with an 80-year background of assessment and psychological expertise, a global network of offices, partners and certified independent consultants in 115 countries, products in 29 languages, and experience working with 88 of the Fortune 100 companies, we're ready to help you succeed.

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Michael Burke
MSR Communications
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Melissa Summer
The Myers-Briggs Company
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SOURCE The Myers-Briggs Company