Women in Management Positions: A Systematic Review and Future Research Agenda

Abstract

Throughout history, there has been an idea that women had to follow orders, which caused them to be kept in subordinate positions even after they entered the labor market; fortunately, during the last few decades, research focused on gender and female leadership has increased substantially. This has facilitated the visibility of women's potential in top positions in organizations around the world. It has been proven that the presence of women on boards of directors’ benefits organizations because it allows them to have a wider diversity of talent for business management. The present study aimed to analyze theoretical and empirical studies on the factors that facilitate women's access to board positions between 2017 and 2022. This systematic review was conducted based on the PRISMA statement strategy of articles in the Proquest, Ebsco, ScienceDirect and Scopus databases. Articles published between the indicated years were selected, in Spanish and English, using inclusion and exclusion criteria, and a subsequent critical analysis of the articles obtained. A total of 34 articles were included from which the corresponding results were extracted. The results show that there is a greater amount of research on the subject in European and North American countries, published almost entirely in English. And according to the analysis, the factors that facilitate women's access to board positions can be divided into political types, such as rules, regulations and quotas, cultural factors such as support for women, equal opportunities and gender equity, organizational factors such as organizational culture, policies, practices and training programs, and social factors such as media visibility, the presence of mentors and partner support. The research concludes that the most investigated factors were political, as these factors increase the number of women on boards in the short term; however, it’s also necessary to highlight the importance of a fusion with social, cultural, and organizational factors to achieve long-term improvement; as well as the commitment of all the agents that interact in the professional life of women. This paper will contribute to future scientific research on women's access to board positions.