Opening the “Black Box”. Factors Affecting Women‘s Journey to Top Management Positions: A Framework Applied to Chile

The issue of women participation in top management and boardroom positions has received increasing attention in the academic literature and the press. However, the pace of advancement for women managers and directors continues to be slow and uneven. Built on a novel framework organized around factors affecting 1) career persistence (staying at the organization) and 2) career advancement or mobility (getting promoted in the organization), this study analyses the particular context of Chile. Our framework organizes the factors at the individual, organizational and public policy level that affect both career persistence and advancement of women in top management positions in Chile. Only 32 percent of women “persist” or has a career without interruptions, mainly affected by work-family integration and organizational environments with transparent and challenging working conditions. Women who “advanced” in their professional careers represent 30 percent of high management position in the public sector and 18 percent in the private sector. Only 3 percent of general managers in Chile are women. Women in Chile have limited access and are still not integrated in the business power networks. Our findings enlighten business leaders and public policy-makers interested in designing organizations that retain and promote talented women in top business positions.