The gender power gap is defined as the proportional power held by women in leadership and management positions relative to men (such as the gap in top executive positions).[1] This measurement distinguishes itself from gender diversity, which only measures the presence of women at the top table. Instead, gender power gap specifically focuses on the value and number of top executive women, who hold decision-making power and authority in the institutions they work for. Executive positions held by women, typically as chief human resources officer, tend to have a fraction of the authority of male executives. Similarly in politics, women tend to be assigned roles which deal with family and other social issues, whereas men are assigned to tackle economic and structural developmental challenges.[1][2] According to UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, who coined the term, the gender power gap that exists in societies, cultures and political systems is also present in economies and corporations.[2]
According to a 2015 UN report, women tend only to have leverage in a minority of decision-making roles in both the private and public sectors.[3] A separate study in 2022, led by Professor Andreas Hoepner of the graduate business school at the University of Dublin, found while women accounted for a quarter of top executive decision-making positions at S&P 500 companies, they controlled only 1 percent of the value of shares held among their fellow corporate leaders.[4] The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women found in January 2023, when compiling the map "Women in politics", that at global level, gender parity in political decision making and leadership roles, in spite of improvements, is still a very distant goal.[5][6]
.. Guterres told the U.N.'s International Women's Day observance Friday that "gender inequality is the overwhelming injustice of our day." "Deep-rooted patriarchy and misogyny have created a yawning gender power gap in our economies, our political systems, our corporations, our societies and our culture," he said. "Women are still very frequently denied a voice; their opinions are ignored and their experience discounted." ..
.. Outside the family structure, the gender power gap is stark, with women holding only a minority of decision making roles in public and private sectors (UN 2015). ..