Where Are the Women? Insights into Leadership in Male-Dominated Industries

Written By Ofri Ben David
Graphic highlighting gender inequality in Denmark with a woman confronting an invisible workplace barrier.

 Infographic showing the job hiring trends by month with related icons.

According to Euronews, a recent study revealed that Denmark, Finland, and Sweden are the top three most favorable countries for women to work and live in out of 16 European nations in 2025.  Denmark earns a life score of 83 based on key gender equality indicators, including wage gaps, bank account ownership, and the proportion of women who are entrepreneurs.  Drawing on sources such as Eurostat, OECD, the International Labour Organization, and the European Institute for Gender Equality, the study highlighted Denmark’s long-standing commitment to gender equality. Danmark.dk mentions this mission dates back to the 1814 law on universal primary education and the introduction of women’s suffrage in 1915.

Today, Denmark has one of the highest percentages of women in the workforce globally, supported by a robust public childcare system and progressive policies.  Yet, this success tells only part of the story.  Men working in Denmark still earn 12.7% more than women, and approximately 15% of this gap remains unexplained.  The country also maintains one of the world’s most gender-segregated labour markets, with women disproportionately working in public care roles and men dominating the private sector and STEM fields.  As Henriette Laursen, Director of KVINFO, notes, “norms and expectations limit young people and even kill their dreams of future careers.”  Denmark may be a frontrunner, but when it comes to true equality, especially in leadership, there’s still a long road ahead.

Impact of gender and motherhood on career trajectories

A 2025 study by Brazil’s Academy of Sciences aimed to investigate women’s perceptions of their careers and how gender and motherhood impacted their trajectories.  It revealed a persistent disconnect between men and women in academia, particularly in how motherhood affects career progression.  In physics, a male-dominated field, over 87% of mothers reported a decrease in productivity after having children, with none reporting a neutral or positive impact.  In contrast, women in nursing, where the field is more female-dominated, reported a more varied range of experiences: while 58% noted a decrease, over 25% experienced no impact, and some even reported productivity gains.

Despite similar caregiving responsibilities across both fields, the study found that career penalties disproportionately affected women in STEM, who were primarily responsible for caregiving at home.  Nearly 60% of physicist mothers felt that their careers lagged behind those of their male colleagues.  In contrast, in nursing, the number was just 18.6%.  This points to a structural issue: the problem isn’t just who does the caregiving, but how institutions respond to the situation.


How can we improve the situation?

To close this gap, more substantial efforts must be made to support women’s careers without penalizing them for motherhood.  That includes rethinking rigid expectations of constant productivity and recognizing caregiving as a shared social responsibility.  Crucially, men, especially in academic and leadership roles, must take on a greater share of parenting duties and advocate for workplace cultures that support, rather than sideline, mothers.  Gender equality will remain out of reach until both policies and mindsets shift to reflect the realities of modern parenthood.

Mentorship is often treated as a supplementary benefit in professional settings.  Still, for women, especially in male-dominated fields, it is foundational.  The Women in Medicine program launched by Operation Smile is a compelling example of what happens when female mentorship is intentionally prioritized.  In 2022, Operation Smile conducted four all-women cleft surgery programs in Morocco, Peru, Malawi, and the Philippines.  Each one-week program included women surgeons, anesthesiologists, pediatricians, nurses, dentists, and speech-language pathologists.  The programs began with a full day of women-led educational sessions.  They continued with collaborative clinical work, all under the guidance of female team leaders.

The results were transformative: 97% of participants reported improvements in both their technical and non-technical skills, 82% stated that the experience motivated them to seek leadership roles, and an overwhelming 99% reported that it inspired them to become mentors themselves.  For many participants, it was the first time they had worked in an all-women clinical environment, and it shifted their sense of what was possible.  This illustrates the importance of not only visibility but also structural support: when women see others leading with confidence, it redefines their perception of what leadership can look like.

Without such programs, women in male-dominated industries often lack senior role models and mentoring pathways.  The absence of female leaders contributes to a “leaky pipeline,” not because women lack talent or ambition, but because the path upward is neither visible nor supported.  The Operation Smile initiative provides a practical approach to addressing this gap.

So, how do we break the glass ceiling? 

According to the Forbes Coaches Council, increasing the number of women in leadership requires a dual strategy that focuses on both empowering women and transforming organizational structures.  On the individual level, they recommend developing peer networks and mentorship opportunities, identifying high-potential talent early, and implementing strengths-based leadership programs that boost confidence and resilience. 

Encouraging women to take risks and promoting flexible work arrangements are also essential to help them balance career ambitions with personal responsibilities.  On the corporate side, Forbes emphasizes the importance of shared caregiving policies, such as supporting paternity leave, to level the playing field.  They also advocate for data-driven hiring practices, including the use of inclusion metrics and blind promotion panels to reduce bias.  Organizations are encouraged to shift their focus from hiring for “culture fit” to seeking “culture add” by valuing diverse perspectives.  Additionally, creating allyship programs where senior male leaders mentor women and making bold changes in top-level hiring practices can help break the bottleneck many women face at the middle management level.  By combining these strategies, companies can create environments where women not only enter leadership but also thrive in it.



Sources

Ofri Ben David
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