Worldwide, there is a scarcity of women in leadership (Sandberg, 2010). In many organizations, even at the lowest level women struggle to make up 50% of the workforce. This number decreases steadily as you get successively higher. Worldwide, only 3–4% of women reach CEO level (Herminia Ibarra, 2013). Despite key advancements in the workforce for women over the last few decades, women remain underrepresented in senior management and leadership roles.
As a 25 year old female within the next 10 years I have a decision to make.
Do I pursue a big career, and aim for a senior leadership position?
Do I start my family, and if so how long do I take off work?
Do I dare to have it all?
I would like to think that I could opt for option three and dare to have it all. However the statistics are concerning and therefore I have conducted this report to investigate the barriers to women in senior leadership positions with a focus of how you can successfully balance a career and children.
Regan Barkla
