WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS: HARDER TO ACHIEVE OR MAINTAIN?

Abstract

The numbers and recent literature highlight the challenges women face in achieving leadership positions. Maintaining them in the long term is perhaps even more difficult, as the equation is more complex for women than for men. Factors such as the need for a support network, multiple work shifts, motherhood, prejudice, lower salaries, internal company policies, greater training, and other topics were addressed through a semi-open questionnaire that aimed to delve deeper into the reality of women working in leadership positions in a wide range of sectors. This enabled an understanding of what it was like to forge this path, taking into account the challenges they have overcome and those they face today. Even though the vast majority of respondents have a postgraduate degree, this does not guarantee that the job market will be more friendly, to the point of equating women's careers with men's. Society needs public policies and companies to effectively commit to guaranteeing the same rights and benefits so that men and women can pursue their work activities from the same starting point.