If you look at the statistics for number of women versus men globally, it’s almost a 50/50 split – (check this if you want to nerd out on this math). If you compare the same cohort in Product Management, however, the story is more bleak. 30% female Product Managers only – seriously?
Don’t get me wrong – the gap has narrowed YoY in the last decade, which is fantastic. But it’s mostly narrowed by just one, maybe one and a half percent YoY – yikes!
It makes me really wonder though. At my current workplace, out of a total of 60ish Product Managers, we probably have at least 30 who are female. In my immediate team, 60% of us are female. So then where are these numbers getting skewed globally?
Aha – let’s add ethnicity to the mix. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say I don’t believe there’s any Muslim (let alone Muslim female) representation in the White or Hispanic cohorts above – 1% or less at best. Not only are women majorly underrepresented in the Product discipline, the issue clearly worsens for Muslimahs (i.e. Muslim women).
It’s not that I haven’t wanted to talk more publicly about this over the years. It’s just that it’s taken me a while to figure out how best to do it. Plus also the fact that now I have two little girls, for whom I feel an even bigger responsibility to make this right in the world.
Still curious why having more Muslimah Product Managers will lead to better products? Click here for a great article by ProductPlan.
Be respectful to women, for they are the mothers of mankind.
Ali ibn Abi Talib (RA)