Research Shows Many Female CEOs Did Not Job Hop

Conventional wisdom tells women who hope to someday run a major business to earn an undergraduate degree from a prestigious school, get an MBA from a Top 10 institution and then launching a career in investment banking or consulting with a major firm. Then they are encouraged to hop from job to job, taking on bigger jobs with greater responsibility until the ultimate goal is attained.

While that path has even been recommended by Sally Blount, the Kellogg School of Management’s dean and the only woman at the helm of a top 10 business school, researchers recently discovered that many of today’s most noted female CEOs took the opposite approach to their careers, staying with one company for a long period of time.

Researchers Sarah Dillard, the CEO of SPD Advisory, and Vanessa Lipschitz of the Jacobson Family Foundation examined the paths of 24 women who work as CEOs for Fortune 500 companies.

The study revealed that most did not pursue a “competitive business track” right out of the gate. As it turned out, only three took positions at consulting firms or banks initially.

About 20% of the female CEOs actually took jobs at the companies they now run. These jobs were not necessarily high end either. General Motors’ Mary Barra, for example, began with the company as a college co-op student. Kathleen Mazzarella worked as a customer service representative at Graybar.

Hopping around from company to company also wasn’t a running theme among the 24 focus subjects. More than 70% of the subject group had worked for more than a decade at the company they currently run. Examples here include Gannett’s Gracia Martore and Mylan’s Heather Bresch.

Those who were not long-term employees at their current companies often did lay down roots at other firms first. Patricia Woertz, for example, spent 29 years at Chevron before making the move to CEO at Archer Daniels Midlands.

The researchers also looked into the predominance of “high-prestige” backgrounds, including Ivy League educations among the 24 female CEOs. Only two had undergraduate degrees from Ivy League schools.

Taking on early stints in the two particular fields – banking and consulting – also turned out not to be a prerequisite. Top 10 business school credentials also didn’t track as a must-have requirement, with only about 25% of the women and 16% of male CEOs having MBAs from the top schools.

What this all adds up to, Dillard and Lipschitz say, is a need to revise the playbook for young women who hope to one day chair large firms.

“Regardless of background, you can commit to a company, work hard, prove yourself in multiple roles, and ultimately ascend to top leadership,” they wrote.

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