Dallas Ranks Eighth Among Cities Where Women Break the Glass Ceiling

The Dallas-Fort Worth metro came in eighth in a new study from SmartAsset, a personal finance technology company based in New York. The comprehensive analysis is on the ability of women in the workforce to break the glass ceiling on managerial roles.

The list uncovers the industries, states, and major metro areas where women have better odds of rising to the top. The glass ceiling ratio, which is determined by dividing the odds of promotion for women by the odds of promotion for men, was calculated for the 15 most-populous metro areas. SmartAsset utilized data from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) while looking specifically at white-collar, private sector workers to find the ratio.

Using the EEOC, SmartAsset examined national, industry, and geography trends in promotion rates by sex. The study aims to investigate the relationship between the gender pay gap and the glass ceiling ratio.

A ratio of one indicates equal odds of promotion, while a ratio of less than one reflects lower odds of promotion for women compared to men. The study found that the glass ceiling ratio is less than one for all of the metro areas that were analyzed, meaning women face barriers to top managerial positions across the country.

The highest ranking metro is the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward area with a ratio of 0.83. Dallas’ ratio, which ranks eighth on the list, is 0.68, slightly higher than the national average of 0.64.

Dallas-Fort Worth has its share of accomplished women who fit right in with the study. Women such as Cynt Marshall (CEO of Dallas Mavericks), Mandy Ginsberg (former CEO of Match.com), and Anne Chow (CEO of AT&T Business) are among the notable locals breaking barriers.

Cynt Marshall spent four decades climbing the corporate ladder at AT&T. Today, she is the first-ever black female CEO in the NBA. She says she took the helm in 2018 to clean up the Dallas Maverick’s “toxic work culture.” But Marshall, 60, says she didn’t truly come into her own until more than 20 years into her career, writes Jade Scipioni on CNBC.

“I just did my job and did what [my bosses] told me to do,” Marshall told CNBC Make It.

Mandy Ginsberg, the former CEO of Match Group, recently told Fast Company that her job was the most fulfilling and impactful of her career. But recently, “a one-two punch of personal issues forced me to take a step back and reprioritize,” she says. Serious health concerns and the destruction of her home led Ginsberg to give up the hard-won top job at the $20 billion company.

“It takes strength and courage to be open and honest about personal challenges and even ask for help,” she told Fast Company. “While vulnerability is viewed as a drawback, I believe it can actually be empowering. It shows deep trust in the organization and those around you. When I started my career, I was so nervous to tell my boss I was pregnant or that I had a doctor’s appointment. Today we can talk about physical health, mental health, aging parents, or sick kids. I think the business community is better for it.”

Anne Chow was named CEO of AT&T Business in Sept. 2019—the first-ever woman to hold that position in the company.

Chow, who holds a Marketing, Operations Management MBA and also has a master’s in Electrical Engineering, has worked for AT&T for some 30 years. She rose through the ranks quickly, holding diverse positions from engineering to direct and indirect sales to product management. All of which have her poised for more success as the company’s leader heading into a new decade.

Chow is now on-deck for what she calls revolutionary times at the company. She and her team believe mobile 5G will jump-start the next ward of industry and life-changing breakthroughs. “2020 is going to be a year when connectivity and networking become more important than ever before in changing how we interact and build relationships with customers, employees, and stakeholders,” she says.

Quincy Preston contributed to this report.