You hear the question all the time: Why don’t we have more women in leadership positions?

Women participation in the US is rising from 34% (in 1950), to almost 47% and by 2025, it will climb to 58.1% (compared with 68.8% for men).

Clearly, women are getting in the door, but what happens once they are in the door?

Women account for only about 20% of CEOs at S&P 500 companies, and the numbers are even worse for executive officers in Fortune 1,000 companies.
In 2013, women held just 4.6% of Fortune 1,000 CEO positions, 8.1% of the top earner positions, and 14.6% of executive officer positions.
While 20% of Fortune 500 companies have 25% or more women executive officers, more than 25% have no women executive officers.

Going up?

You may not realise it, but every time you step into a lift, a massive power play is going down between the people in there.
Older men stand at the back. Younger men in front of them. Women of all ages keep to the front. The blokes stare at the floor monitor or mirrors; women just the monitor. All eye contact is avoided.
A study by Adelaide researcher Rebekah Rousi found that people decide where they stand based on a micro social hierarchy, established within seconds of entering the lift…