Philadelphia Named One of the Best Cities for Women in Leadership

While women have made progress in advancing to more leadership roles, they still continue to lag behind men, in both salary and management positions.

According to SmartAsset, women make up just 25.91% of the management workforce in the country and earn only 83.40% of their male counterparts’ salaries. Women-owned businesses make up just 21.43% of all businesses. However, there are a few cities in which women in leadership are thriving and Philadelphia is one of the top. Philadelphia was ranked fifth out of 62 cities in the country.

In Philadelphia, women make up more than half (51.18%) of management roles, the second-highest in the study, behind just Detroit. While women are still making less than men, the wage gap is smaller in Philadelphia, where women make 83.68% of men’s salaries in manager positions. Philadelphia had the 12th highest rate for growth for management positions between 2018 through 2021, jumping nearly 21%. Women-owned businesses make up 19.46% of all businesses in the city. However, the salary in Philadelphia lags behind the national average. According to the report, a female in management’s income after housing costs would be about $51,388 in Philadelphia, while the national average is $62,357.

Pittsburgh was also included in the study, but didn’t fare as well for women in leadership. The Steel City was ranked 43rd out of 62 and women in management make up only 41.12% of the workforce and earn just 78.61% of men in management. Women-owned businesses represent 18.07% of businesses in the city.

The site analyzed gender pay gaps in management, income after housing costs, women as a percentage of management, three-year management employment growth and percentage of women-owned businesses to rank the 62 biggest cities in the country.