The Glass Ceiling in Sales is Real. Here Are 3 Ways Women Can Break Through It Anyway.

“The glass ceiling will go away when women help other women break through that ceiling,” said Indra Nooyi, former Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo. At LinkedIn, we agree and would like to take the sentiment of this quote a step further — the glass ceiling will go away when everyone helps other women break through.

It’s in that spirit that we want to share some new data on the current state of women in sales today —ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8. We sought to better understand how women are represented at every level of sales organizations globally and to explore what women in sales leadership are doing that other women in sales can learn from. But, what we found is that women in sales leadership are working smarter and we can all learn from their example.

While nearly equally represented in the individual contributor ranks, there's a large gender disparity between women and men in sales leadership globally.

At the individual contributor level, the number of men and women is almost equal. However, as you move up the corporate ladder to the manager level and above, there is a pronounced shift towards more men. 

An interesting exception to this trend — and notable bright spot — is that among business owners, the representation of men and women is nearly equal.

Here’s the stat that lit a fire in our belly. Women only represent 24% of executives in sales leadership. Although the number is certainly disheartening, and there are many factors that contribute to gender disparity in leadership roles, we wanted to understand if there was an underlying performance gap between men and women that might explain why we’re seeing this disparity. 

Women perform equally well as men. So, let’s take that off the table.

We recently partnered with globally renowned research firm Ipsos, to identify which sales best practices were the real needle movers with high correlations to salespeople who exceeded their quotas. As part of that research, we surveyed 1,639 men and 545 women in sales globally and asked them about how they performed against their quota. 

The data tells the story. Men and women are performing at the same levels with 59% of women and 60% of men reporting that they met quota and 31% of women and 28% of men saying that they exceeded quota last year, 

Here are 3 things that you can do to grow your career.

Here's what we found female sales executives were doing differently than the women who are Director level and below. As mentioned earlier, we recently published a new report exploring the sales habits — called the deep sales approach — that help sellers have a greater chance of exceeding their quotas. Many of the behaviors that we identified including leveraging AI, setting up alerts, and doing research to have more meaningful conversations with customers are now proven best practices. 

1. Use AI and alerts to save time: Women in sales leadership use AI to become more efficient.

We all know that wielding technology wisely can save us time and women in sales leadership understand. According to Ipsos, 78% of women in sales leadership at the VP level agree that they use AI in their sales efforts, compared to 66% of directors and below. 

Additionally, 58% of women in sales leadership at the VP level agree that they use AI to create efficiencies to help them sell in the future, compared to 49% of directors and below. Women in sales leadership are also more likely to use alerts, with 25% of women at the VP level setting up alerts on key people, compared to 16% of directors and below. And 28% of women at the VP level set up alerts on industry news, compared to only 20% of directors and below.

2. Invest time into research and relationship-building with customers.

If you read the recent deep sales research, you already know that the most important thing that a seller can do is get smart so they can build trusted, fruitful relationships. When women in sales leadership save time using technology, then can then make space to reinvest that time in customers. 

We found that 52% of women at the VP level agree that they are spending more time conducting research this year compared to last year, compared to 39% of directors and below. And, nearly 8 in 10 (78%) women sales leaders say they have increased the amount of time they have spent building relationships with customers since the past year. This is higher than the percentage of directors and below who have done the same (72%).

"Sales has always been built off of relationships, but the future of sales requires relationships to be at the core of everything we do as sellers.” said Alexine Mudawar, CEO of Women in Sales. “As the market gets noisier and traditional communication channels get cluttered, finding creative ways to break through the noise and focusing on authentic connections becomes invaluable. Women, in particular, tend to prioritize relationship building and know that this is paramount to their long-term success."

3. #AlwaysBeLearning

We have a saying here at LinkedIn — #AlwaysBeLearning. We know that in a world where the shelf life of skills is getting shorter and shorter, the winners in the new world of work are naturally curious and consider learning a core part of their job. Women in sales leadership deeply understand this and take courses on LinkedIn Learning to hone their skills — particularly AI, communication, and LinkedIn skills.

Here are the top 5 courses that women in leadership* (VP ) take on LinkedIn Learning. And, you can take them too because they are all open and free to everyone until March 30, 2024.

1. The 3-Minute Rule: Say Less to Get More
2. What is Generative AI?
3. How to Speak So People Want to Listen
4. How to Sell on Value, Not Price
5. LinkedIn Premium Quick Tips 

Bonus Track: Learning LinkedIn Sales Navigator

*Source: LinkedIn, 2024

Chantel George, Founder and CEO of Sistas in Sales sums these learnings up well. She said, “This research highlights important data missing from the conversation. Women in Sales Leadership are flexing innate skill sets — including strong time management, relationship building, and communication skills —that make us unique, invaluable, and a boon to any organization”

Although the glass ceiling in sales is real, we all have a lot to learn from the 24% of women who have broken through. By following these practical tips, you can grow into a leadership role in sales and help other women do the same.