Breaking Through

Chapter 3Obstacles to Success and Solutions for Overcoming Them

IT'S CLEAR THAT WOMEN ARE NOT EQUALLY represented in companies or among entrepreneurs—they are in the minority everywhere, or at least they're a minority in key decision-making posts, rare in the senior levels of management, and almost completely absent in executive committees and at the board level of major groups. Yet they represent at least 50 percent of the work force—and even if many women set up and lead SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises), they're not in the high-growth sectors or present among the leading entrepreneurial companies. The distribution is so uneven that even the most sexist members of society admit that it can't only be attributed to lack of talent or work ethic.

In Part II, we highlight the main social and cultural obstacles that prevent women from getting to the top, and provide solutions as to how to get around them.

We asked six experts to help us analyze the persistence of gender inequality in business—and how we can find a way around these obstacles.

Our experts are highly acclaimed in their respective fields, and, through their actions and thinking, they exert a strong influence on public opinion. They are all deeply committed to ensuring that women achieve their rightful place in business life.

Whether they are professors in universities, chief executives, headhunters, or event organizers, not one of them has ever lost sight of the obstacles they had to overcome to reach the positions ...