Fashion is an industry, often lauded for its creativity and innovation, which paradoxically mirrors societal inequalities, particularly regarding gender and influence on culture. Women, despite being the predominant consumers and a significant portion of the workforce in fashion, face considerable barriers that hinder their advancement. My critical questioning of how many women actually make it to the top of the fashion industry highlights a significant gender disparity in the leader and ownership of high fashion brands and houses, which are predominantly presided over by men.
This lack of gender diversity at the helm of prestigious fashion institutions raises an important question about representation, equality, and the perspectives shaping the industry. Historically, many high fashion brands that design woman’s clothing were run by men, suggesting a patriarchal foundation that has persisted over time. The underrepresentation of women in top leadership positions within these fashion empires not only limits diverse viewpoints but also perpetuates gender stereotypes and inequalities in the industry. I discovered that more than 85% of college majors from top fashion schools are female, but industry advisors Business of Fashion (BoF) found that only around 14% of the top 50 major fashion brands are actually run by women, clearly suggesting a struggle for women to reach the top of the fashion industry, exposing the evident glass ceiling that women face.
The invisible obstacles that prevent women and minorities from advancing to top positions within the industry, that strips their opportunities for leadership roles and the pinnacle revenues that they fight just as hard to receive, is a current hot topic of discussion in society today. Even Glamour magazine rebranded the sociological term as the ‘glass runway’ in their article “Our exclusive survey on the state of the fashion industry”, which focuses on the specific stumbles a woman suffers as she climbs the unjustifiably-skewed fashion industry ladder. The ‘glass ceiling’ that women face is the barrier that blocks women from rising to the top of companies – they can get near to the top, but they can’t sit in the CEO’s chair. In the fashion industry, this is starkly evident. While many women serve in entry-level and mid-level roles, the upper echelons of power are dominated by the men. More women seem to be graduating with a fashion education than men, but instead of giving them a competitive edge to climb the industry ranks, women are still primarily running the shop floors and design studios as opposed to the houses themselves, but it’s not for a lack of ambition or qualifications.
The disconnect between the number of qualified women in the industry and the very few women being considered for C-suite positions comes down to gender bias and the very harsh pedestal they are scrambling to stay on. Is this an ambition gap? No. It’s an equality gap.
Indeed, women start their fashion careers with high ambitions—even higher than men. At entry level, 70 percent of women aspire to become top executives, versus 60 percent of men. Men’s ambitions continue to grow, reaching 91 percent by VP level, while women’s ambitions remain at 73 percent. This suggests women’s ambitions are not cultivated along the journey, but they become more frustrated and disenchanted with each barrier they meet. This is not the same for men, who never face such limiting emotional and physical blockages and disheartening judgements against them at each stage of their life, and therefore never feel they cannot achieve what they want to at any possible level.
The paradox of men designing clothes for women while women struggle to ascend to influential positions highlights a profound disconnect between the creators and their consumers. This lack of gender representation can lead to designs that fail to resonate with or serve the needs of female consumers, ultimately reducing women's fashion to a mere spectacle, rather than a true reflection of their identities. Moreover, the systemic barriers that hinder women's progress within the industry, further enrich this imbalance, creating a cycle where women's voices remain marginalised. The result is an industry that not only reflects societal gender biases but also risks alienating the very demographic it seeks to empower, underscoring the urgent need for more equitable and inclusive executive boards.