There are more men named John running American companies than women
Just in case you thought you saw a crack in the glass ceiling, Justin Wolfers at The Upshot is here to clear up that pesky gender inequality question with a few helpful graphs.
For every female CEO of S&P 1500 firms, there are four men named John, Robert, William, or James. In fact, only one in 25 of these large firms is run by a woman.
Wolfers also focused his so-called Glass Ceiling Index on Congress, where there is slightly less depressing news. On the Republican side of the Senate, female legislators are outnumbered by men named John, Robert, James, and Williams by a ratio of 2.17 to 1. But — hooray! — the ratio is slightly better in the House (1.36 to 1).
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
On the Democratic side, we might as well break out the champagne, since women actually outnumber the Jims, Bobs, Jacks, and Bills in both the House and Senate at a ratio of 0.3 to 1.
Wolfers does point out that The Glass Ceiling index isn’t perfect and will certainly change with the millennial generation of names. But, he adds, "it does point out an important truth — that in many important decision-making areas of American life, women remain vastly outnumbered."
Amen.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons merger
Speed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Rupert Murdoch loses 'Succession' court battle
Speed Read Murdoch wanted to give full control of his empire to son Lachlan, ensuring Fox News' right-wing editorial slant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bitcoin surges above $100k in post-election rally
Speed Read Investors are betting that the incoming Trump administration will embrace crypto
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Enron mystery: 'sick joke' or serious revival?
Speed Read 23 years after its bankruptcy filing, the Texas energy firm has announced its resurrection
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US charges Indian tycoon with bribery, fraud
Speed Read Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been indicted by US prosecutors for his role in a $265 million scheme to secure solar energy deals
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Boeing machinists approve contract, end strike
Speed Read The company's largest union approved the new contract offer, ending a seven-week strike
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US economy still strong in final preelection report
Speed Read It grew at a solid 2.8% annual rate from July through September
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Boeing machinists reject deal, continue strike
Speed Read The rejection came the same day Boeing reported a $6.2 billion quarterly loss
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published