Why Are There So Few Women Execs in Retail?

While there is always room for improvement, I'm not sure that retail is as grim a place for women as is characterized here. In the Fortune 500 retail companies, there are 13 (e.g. Barnes & Noble, Macy's, Target, and Whole Foods) with more than 25% women on the Board, 21 with more than 25% Executive Officers (e.g. Home Depot, Nordstrom, Macy's), and 9 CEOs (e.g. TJX, Ann Taylor, HSN).

At the beginning of my career (shortly after the earth cooled), there were 0 in all these categories. Definitely room for more women in the executive offices and Board Rooms, but definite, tangible improvement nevertheless. From personal experience, I would go so far as to say that retail offers one of the most promising career paths of women who seek executive positions.

Bill Emerson, President, Emerson Advisors

I've worked with far too many talented women in the retail field to believe that their under-representation in Senior Management is based on merit or experience. It seems pretty clear that (hopefully unintentional) gender bias is still a factor in our industry.

It was bitter sweet to see one of our great female retail CEOs, Sarah Jewell at REI, nominated to be Secretary of the Interior this week.

Jason Goldberg, VP Strategy, Multi-Channel Commerce & Content, Razorfish

The very question is controversial because it somehow assumes that gender is a pejorative. Maybe women are simply smarter and working in higher paying industries like pharmaceuticals or manufacturing. It is also difficult to answer the question because by merely answering it, you have to admit there is a gender gap, but I will try.

I think retail has traditionally been the place where smart, self motivated people can work themselves up the ranks without any special degrees or complex training. This is changing, maybe not for the better, as operating any business has become more complex and senior executives require more technical skills. But the change has just begun and I think there are still situations in retail where the "operations guy" has grown up through the ranks and fought his way to the top positions in the organization.

Having said that, I also believe a diversified senior management group can help an organization make better decisions, as long as it doesn't lead to paralysis. It has been proved over and over that "crowd sourcing" can lead to better decisions. Incorporating multiple perspectives is always wise, but there also has to be a point where the organization is rallied around a decision. This is where the role of strong leadership comes into play and the "coach" has to drive the team to the "goal line."

Bill Bittner, Principal, BWH Consulting

It seems that the majority of retail executives are recycling within the industry from one retail chain to another. That's not to say they are not good candidates, because in most instances, they do have all the right history, background, and experience, but I do think this hurts chances for new executives to win positions at retail.

Since the overwhelming majority of recycled executives in the industry are men; it's very difficult for women, or even men's newer, fresher faces, to break through.

I don't know that it's a bias for men, in as much as it's a bias that boards have for hiring recycled experience from the industry itself. It's sort of a rut that just won't end ... but I wish it would. This industry desperately needs newer, fresher ideas, new leadership, and new approaches.

David Biernbaum, Senior Marketing and Business Development Consultant, David Biernbaum Associates

Let's face it, we men have had trouble letting go. Women need to be better represented in the executive mix for three reasons: 1. They better understand the (overwhelmingly female) target audience. 2. Most have better quantitative abilities. 3.They are more likely to make decisions without passion or emotion.

'JWylie'

I believe it comes from old-school retailing, where the store was the center of the universe. It used to be that you made it in retail by working your way up the store operations ranks. Sure, there were other paths through merchandising, but between both functions, there is a lot of either travel or moving around. And let's face it, even today women bear the brunt of child-rearing and -caring. A career in Store Ops and Merchandising—the way it used to be in retail—is just not conducive to balancing both work and life. So I believe a lot of women have historically opted out of the jobs that would lead to the executive ranks today.

However, for the same reasons, I think this is going to change—dramatically. You can work your way up the eCommerce ranks without leaving the building. And marketing, a profession where a lot of women have found a working home, is becoming more important as well. So I see a future where the retail executive team is going to draw more heavily from these two disciplines than it has in the past, and it won't take long before any kind of gender gap goes to the wayside. And as soon as we manage that gap, then the board gap will also disappear, as more women gain the executive experience that makes for valuable board members.

This is an over-simplification, but I often find myself thinking that when people talk about the gender gap in work, they completely under-estimate the life situations that ultimately shape the career decisions that women make. It's not about forcing the system to take on more women. It's about rethinking the system so that it no longer takes a career backed by a stay-home wife/mom to make it as an executive.

Nikki Baird, Managing Partner, RSR Research

I recently asked a table of executive women whether they had been blatantly discriminated against during their careers. Everyone said they had. We have a long way to go.

Cathy Hotka, Principal, Cathy Hotka & Associates

My sense is that many women would not want to put up with the ever-present internal silos that never seem to be broken down in the retail industry. Women are inherently very collaborative across a group, and today's retail management environments struggle in that area.

I think women would be very well suited for Chief Customer Officer roles. Research from Retail TouchPoints shows most retailers don't really have an owner of the customer experience. I know many women who would do a great job in that type of a role, especially if it were truly endorsed by the CEO.

Anne Howe, Founder, Anne Howe Associates

Being a woman who has been in this great industry for over 35 years, we've come a long way baby! Yes, retail has been notoriously a good ole boy network. Yes, there still is some bias in our industry.

As I watch fresh, younger talent stepping into top executive roles, I see this bias disappearing. I also believe that as we move into this new world of the customer, the empathy and insightfulness of the female gender will be much needed skills in the board room.

I know that I'm stereotyping but they wouldn't be stereotypes if there weren't some truth there, IMHO

Lee Kent, Chief Retail Authority, Targeted Technology Solutions

Retail is in the beginning stages of a huge transformation away from the traditional layered merchant organizations of the past and toward the flatter, technology-driven organizations that will guide retail's future. Once the movement picks up a bit more speed, women, including those who have built careers outside of traditional "retail," should have more opportunities.

In fact, as intertwined as technology and retail now are, and with hybrid business models being more the rule than the exception these days, limiting "retail" to traditional retailers is old school. Were Angela Ahrendts, Tori Burch, Martha Stewart, Rei Kawakubo, et al included in the count?

Carol Spieckerman, President, newmarketbuilders

I would not be surprised to see visible minorities also excluded from the senior execs stats. Far too often, retail is the proverbial "boys club." This is a shame.

Better representation means new management styles and ideas. Women have a huge role to play and indeed have done so in progressive and highly competitive industries such as software. Retailers: ignore women execs at your own risk!

Fabien Tiburce, CEO, Compliantia, Retail Audit & Task Management Software

The retail and CPG industries were good old boys' clubs at the executive level when I started out in the (ahem) late '70s and have remained that way to a large degree. I have attended fairly large exec conferences where you were hard pressed to find a handful of women (excluding spouses) and minorities present. It was embarrassing to say the least, and this continued well into the '90s. It is less so now, but the first comment of a guest I brought to see the NRF Big Show a couple of years ago was "Why are there so many men?" I'm not sure I had a great answer.

Sidenote: We are always looking for additional qualified female retail execs to join the BrainTrust, so contact us if you are interested.

Al McClain, CEO, Founder, RetailWire.com

This reflects the transitional time that we are in. The other side of this that needs to be examined is what were these numbers 5, 10, or even 20 years ago? How much have we changed this number and how long has it taken for this to change are the key questions that need to be answered. We believe that these numbers represent the start of a trend to more fully integrate women into the ranks of retail.

Kai Clarke, President, Miraclebeam Products, Inc.