Like the Public Sector, the Service Sector presents a balanced gender distribution at the non-management levels. Across all other hierarchy levels, the percentage of women remains relatively stable at a considerably lower level than in non-management, hovering around the critical mass of 30 percentage points. This indicates that the jump from non-management to management is tricky for women, though advancing upwards within management is more manageable.
It’s important to note that this sector encompasses a wide range of companies, leading to significant variations in gender representation. The median values often differ significantly from the average, especially due to the presence of outliers, highlighting the diversity of experiences within the sector.
When it comes to the female talent pipeline, it is evident that the Service Sector is not doing enough to achieve a balanced gender distribution. Female representation takes the first hit at the lowest and lower management levels, with promotions being 13 percentage points lower than the representation of women in non-management. New hires are also not contributing to a higher female representation. The situation remains discouraging for women as they approach middle and top management. Only promotions have a slight positive effect on women’s representation in top management.
The GCI of 2.4 for the Service Sector confirms that women in this industry face significant challenges when reaching middle and top management levels.
The Service Sector has a significant difference between male and female employment percentages. With a deviation of 13 percentage points from non-management to top management level, women seem to have to give up part-time to advance in their careers, putting them at a distinct career disadvantage. Part-time at non-management levels appears to be a reality for women only.