In the world of female-oriented products like tampons and cosmetics, one would think that a woman’s touch is necessary. Apparently, that’s not really the case. We already know that in top companies, the numbers of women absolutely dwindle as they rise through the tanks (although the pay gap does not affect those women at the top quite as hard). But what about companies that cater to women?
In an illuminating piece at Huffington Post, Jillian Berman and Catalyst looked at 19 of the biggest companies geared towards women including Bed Bath & Beyond, L’Oreal, P&G, and Gap. The only company with a majority women on their boards is Avon. And while there has been an influx of women in entry level and middle management jobs, the numbers are dismal at the executive level:
“The beauty industry is full of women, but once you get to that certain level, the women start falling off,” she said. “You will see many women in the cubicles. You just won’t see them in the C-Suite”
Some insiders chalk up the lack of women to “tradition” — men have always been in charge and they’re not keen to change things. In addition, many beauty companies are legacy family businesses, meaning that gender may be less of a consideration than the relationship to a founder.
“These CEOs are working in their comfort zone,” said Malli Gero, the co-founder of 2020 Women On Boards. “You see this emphasis on all-male boards, even when it’s a company that markets heavily to women.”
Ah yes, “tradition.” The idea that things have always worked one way, so why go and fuck with that? Well as it becomes more and more apparent that having women at the top is a good thing, hopefully the reliance on arbitrary tradition will continue to dissolve. Because once again we are far past due when it comes to women representation in the executive level in companies and also I think we’re definitely far past women in white twirling about in the name of blue alien menstruation.
Image via Shutterstock.