Womenomics – Gender Pay Gap and the Role of Women in Project Management

Are you wondering why there are more male project managers than female project managers? Are you considering ways to generate more enthusiasm for project management among women? In that case, this article about womenomics will be of interest to you. Women are clearly an important, yet so far underutilized, asset for the project management profession.

This article will give you an overview of the professionional situation of women in project management (statistics and experience). You will also learn more about specific measures to increase the proportion of women in project management:

• Definition womenomics
• The female project manager – the current situation
• Is project management a man’s world?
• A salary comparison for women in project management
• The positive influence of women on projects and companies
• Greater diversity in project management
• Tips to get more women into project management
• Conclusion – Womenomics: Gender pay gap and the role of women in project management

Let us begin!

Definition Womenomics

“Womenomics” – the female shift in business – is a global megatrend that has too long been neglected.

Japanese late prime minister Shinzō Abe coined this term in 2013 by declaring his intention to focus more strongly on the Japanese leadership’s stated goal of making equality for women the centerpiece of Japan’s economic and growth strategy. His stated goal at the time was to have women occupy 30% of the managerial positions. Additionally, the workforce participation rate for women aged 25-44 was to be increased from 68% to 73% by 2020. The goal: to tap the latent reserves of the female labor force as a production factor to boost economic performance and development.

Maximizing the economic potential was not the only goal, however. Workplace equality, and especially career opportunities, are not only an economic and business issue but even more so a societal one. Can a nation or a company really afford to neglect 50% of its workforce, especially one that is generally very well educated?

No society can justify denying half its population equal opportunities for development. Gender diversity is no longer a niche issue. It is now part of the political and economic mainstream and has become a major issue in decision-making processes. So now the question is, how have gender diversity and womenomics affected project management?

The Female Project Manager – The Current Situation

Data on the involvement of women in project management is sparse, to put it mildly. Statistics available from the Project Management Institute (PMI) show that women currently constitute an estimated 20-30% of the project management staff worldwide. Another study produced by the Germany-based “Gesellschaft für Projektmanagement (GPM)” (German member of the International Project Management Association, IPMA) from 2014 came to a similar conclusion, estimating that roughly 30% of the German project managers were female. However, there is good news: the percentage is increasing: in 2024, the GPM found that the female share of project managers had increased by 44% compared to their last survey from 2019.

Most of these women migrate to project management rather accidentally. In other words, few of these university graduates originally sought a career in project management. The majority began their career as a technical expert and over time progressed into the role of project manager.

This progression in perspective and responsibility is generally accompanied by professional development opportunities. As women begin to assume responsibility for projects, they also work to obtain the associated professional qualifications, for example, through certification programs.

There is a high degree of job satisfaction: These women value the:

• Fact that each project is unique
• Joy of working with others to achieve a goal and produce clear results
• Collaboration with a variety of teams and clients

Is Project Management a Man’s World?

Gender-specific challenges – obstacles – have not been completely eliminated. Project management remains a man’s world.

Women managers often report that they first have to assert themselves to gain acceptance and overcome the typical stereotypes.

There is also a scarcity of female role models. This is partially attributable to the fact that more women than men face the challenge of achieving a good work-life balance while managing a project.

A Salary Comparison for Women in Project Management

Project management work is lucrative for women as well – but not as lucrative as for their male colleagues. In 2024, the Gesellschaft für Projektmanagement (GPM, see above) published their eighth study of project management salaries and careers.

Project managers who were men had an average salary of €112,000 (€87,000 in 2019). Their female counterparts earned approximately 21% (11%  in 2019) less.

The PMI salary report for 2020 determined that the pay gap for Germany is higher than the GPM for 2019, namely 16%.

This gender pay gap increases with the level of responsibility and seniority. At the highest levels of project management, this gender pay gap is an immense 26.3%, whereas women are only subjected to a 4.7% reduction for entry-level positions.

An intuitive explanation could be that women and men are subject to the same demands and qualifications as they begin their careers. The gender pay gap that then emerges could be due to women choosing to pause their careers to raise a family and the consequent decision to devote less time to their careers.

However, there may be other obstacles for women seeking to advance their career: the reluctance to be in the limelight and assume greater responsibility – both prerequisites for a managerial position.

An international comparison shows the following gender pay gaps in project management:

• Great Britain: approx. 14%
• France: 11.5%
• USA: 10%
• Switzerland: 5.5%
  (This is notably the country with the highest project manager salaries for both men and women.)

The Positive Influence of Women on Projects and Companies

The employment world continues to evolve and is developing into a project-based economy.

The percentage of project-related work in the total value added was already approximately 40% in Germany for 2019. Forecasts predict the global demand for project managers to grow by 33% before 2027.

The key to gaining a competitive advantage in this brave new world of work is having highly efficient, motivated employees. This is a prerequisite for successful projects.

Having qualified women in project management will therefore become increasingly important. They have already proven their worth and are therefore no longer an optional nice-to-have but rather a valuable contributor to the company’s bottom line. There is a good business case for including more women in project management.

Greater Diversity in Project Management

It is a well-known fact that diversity in project management – also regarding gender balance – produces better project results and serves to sustainably incorporate the project in the affected company or organization.

Women can deploy their strengths in projects by:

• Bringing people together and driving the collaboration needed to produce a shared achievement
• Finding fast, practical solutions to complex problems
• Their ability to communicate well

Especially the latter, good communication skills, is a critical asset in project management.

You may also find this article interesting: Resource Management in Project Management – Basics and Methods for Beginners

Tips to Get More Women into Project Management

You, too, can help further increase the percentage of women in project management. And now, a few striking examples to illustrate some best practices:

Raising Awareness of the Scope of Activities Handled by Women Project Managers

There should be clear communication of the scope of activities and valuable contributions made by women, in particular. Many women, and especially younger ones, are still awaiting more comprehensive answers to these questions:

• What is a typical day for a woman project manager?
• What are the benefits and challenges?
• How can I become a project manager?

In addition to the efforts by the PMI Institute, IPMA, and GPM to answer these questions, we also recommend the “Celebrating Women in Project Management” initiative launched by the Australian author Elise Stevens, who serves as a valuable role model. Stevens presented successful women in project management 150 days a year on her social media channels.

In her book, Sarah Ipek Ozguler interviews 29 women project managers around the world to illustrate their successful career paths. It is also a valuable source.

Those aspiring to be project managers can benefit as well from using personal branding to promote themselves and their profession.

Creating and Promoting Networking Opportunities

Women project managers want to, and must, network and share ideas with other members of their profession in order to learn from each other and help each other.

In Germany, this networking and support opportunity for women project managers has been provided chiefly by GPM and its female PM experts.

Companies can, and are encouraged to, provide similar forums for sharing ideas and internal networking within their own organization as well.

In addition to networking, women project managers can also develop a mentoring program (that can also be non-gender-specific). Mentoring involves much more than just networking; it offers new opportunities to learn from one another and grow professionally.

In Germany, there are now several mentoring programs, among which Mentorme is surely the largest and most successful community.

Conclusion – Womenomics: The Gender Pay Gap and the Role of Women in Project Management

Although there have been promising developments, when it comes to getting “more women into project management” much more still needs to be done. This was also the tenor of a 2022 German-language study on women in project management conducted by author Darya Schwarz-Fradkova and TPG The Project Group.

Hopefully, the hitherto barely tapped resource of womenomics will be used and receive the recognition it deserves.

This is the only way to utilize this megatrend’s hidden potential to bring economic and societal development to full fruition – even far beyond project management

Our final tips

Get to know the individually adaptable “PPM Paradise” – the optimal environment for your enterprise-wide project, program, portfolio and resource management. Download the eBook now (just click, no form).

And sign up for our bi-weekly blog newsletter to make sure you receive all our updates.

Have you dealt with womenomics in a project environment, and what do you see as the advantages and disadvantages? We would enjoy hearing from you. Please leave your feedback in the comments section.

Sources used

Article:

• Frauen erobern die Arbeitswelt (Women Conquer the Workforce)
• Womenomics und die japanische Realität (Women and Japanese Reality)
• Women in Project Management: Future Perspectives
• Women Project Managers: the exploration of their job challenges and issue selling behaviors

Studies:

• PMI: Earning power, Salary Report 2020
• GPM Salary Survey (2024)
• PMI: A case for diversity (2020)
• Studie zur aktuellen Situation von Frauen im Projektmanagement der GPM (2014) (Study of women’s current situation in project management)
• PMI: Pulse of the profession (2020)

Books:

• Ozguler, Sarah Ipek (2019): The Perspective of Women Project Management Professionals

print this article