Success Factors for Corporate Woman Executives

Abstract

In the late 1960s, Hennig and Jardim interuiewed 25 top-level, female executives and published their findings in the book, The Managerial Woman. Their study developed a profile of women who entered thejob market in the 1930s. The present study interviewed 21 woman executives who entered the job market in the 1960s and achieved success in corporate management. A comparison of the profiles developed in each study indicates that being an only or first child and having a college education are still important, but not crucial, factors for success. Today's woman executives marry earlier and expect to achieve success in both their careers and in marriage. Successful woman executives in the present study held positive attitudes about themselves and their work environments. They tended to use a "selling mode" as their leadership style and "expertise" as their power base.