Women in top management positions: the gender and salary gap issue

Abstract

This study aims to identify and verify the presence of a gender gap in top management positions. This study try to figure out what the representation of women in positions of leadership, in Portugal, and figure out if the issue of leadership is a problem for passing intermediate management positions to top management positions. It also aims to identify and verify the presence of a wage gap between men and women occupying positions of top management. Trying to be innovate in the study of leadership, it has been developed an indicator that allows the measurement of the leadership competence of individuals in top management positions, to understand if the scarcity of women found in this positions is due to lower leadership skills. The results show that men and women, in top management positions, are similar in what concerns to leadership ability.