The number of women running Fortune 500 companies is higher than it’s ever been. And yet, there are only 32 female CEOs on that list. So… why aren’t there more high-powered women in positions of power? There are a multitude of reasons, but according to Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, author of the article “If you Can’t Find a Spouse Who Supports Your Career, Stay Single,” part of the issue lies with the support these women are receiving.
Three Takeaways
- In Wittenberg-Cox’s opinion, the corporate world is just not adapted to people in dual-earner relationships. Bosses, particularly those in the boomer generation, expect their workers to be single-earners with spouses who are willing to move anywhere.
- For ambitious women, Wittenberg-Cox sees a stark choice. To succeed in a high-powered career, you either have a supportive spouse, or, at some point in your life or career, you end up going it alone.
- If you’re wondering: how do we have dual careers and preserve our marriage, Wittenberg-Cox recommends talking about career issues early, before push comes to shove and someone lands a high-paying job in Buenos Aires.
More reading
- Here’s Wittenberg-Cox’s original article in the Harvard Business Review.
- During the interview, Wittenberg-Cox mentioned that we would soon be living into our 100s. We talked to Andrew Scott about what longer lifespans will mean for our world.
- Lack of spousal support and rigid gender roles are, of course, not the only reasons that there are few women in high-powered positions. Rebecca Traister writes about the #MeToo movement in the context of the workplace.
