Game-Changing Hiring Approach for Women in Top-Level Management

There are some sobering statistics in the wake of International Women’s Day: Although women comprise nearly half of the global workforce (43.4%), less than one-third are in roles at the vice president level and above, according to newly-released LinkedIn data.

Even though top-level management representation among women has grown between 2015 and 2024 from 27.5% to 30.4%, progress has slowed down, LinkedIn found. There has only been an insignificant 0.2% increase since 2002.

LinkedIn’s data indicated that a skills-based hiring approach would expand talent pools by 6x globally and “can substantially increase the pool of potential candidates and propel more qualified women forward.”

Discouraging U.S. stats for women in leadership

As women in the U.S. climb higher on the corporate ladder, their numbers drop significantly. While they hold more than half of entry-level individual contributor positions, only one-third of women are in more senior individual contributor positions, according to LinkedIn.

In terms of the management track, women hold 40% of early-career management positions but just 28.5% of C-suite positions, the career site said.

This aligns with a new report from Ensono that found 89% of women said AI skills have accelerated their careers, but leadership ambitions are stalling.

Skills-based hiring may be the game-changer

A skills-based hiring approach creates a talent pool of eligible candidates for a job position composed of workers who have at least half the top skills of the target job, LinkedIn said. This is in contrast to traditional talent pools comprised of workers who have previously worked in a certain occupation.

SEE: Women in Tech: Steps Leaders Can Take to Improve Retention and Career Opportunities

In AI roles, a skills-based approach increases the talent pipeline by 8.2x globally, 34% higher than the increase for non-AI jobs.

“Skills-based hiring can increase female representation in talent pools, especially in underrepresented fields like technology and AI,’’ the report noted.

Focusing on skills when hiring for AI roles could increase the share of women by up to 24%. A skills-based hiring approach could benefit younger workers, especially Gen Z, in most countries, LinkedIn said.

How to get more female applicants

To increase the number of qualified female job applicants, the site interviewed Harvard Business School Professor Katherine Coffman, who recommended that employers “reduce ambiguity around expectations in job postings.” Job postings are “concrete, objective, and clear,” Coffman said, when they include details such as what demonstrated excellence looks like in a particular role.

LinkedIn said transparency in job postings incentivizes more women to apply.