The Retail Gender Paradox
Retail is an industry powered by women. Women drive 70-80% of all consumer purchasing decisions, represent the majority of retail’s frontline workforce, and are increasingly shaping the industry’s biggest trends. Yet, when it comes to the C-suite and boardroom, the numbers tell a different story:
- Fewer than 10% of Fortune 500 retail CEOs are women.
- Women hold only 30% of retail and consumer company board seats.
- Many female executives are concentrated in HR, marketing, or legal roles, rather than in P&L ownership positions – the path to CEO.
The question is no longer “Why aren’t there more women in leadership?” We know the barriers. The real challenge is: What can companies do to fix it?
Breaking the Barriers: How Retailers Can Attract & Retain Female Executives
The companies that successfully recruit, retain, and elevate women into leadership don’t do so by accident. They implement intentional, measurable strategies to develop female executives. Here’s how leading retail and consumer brands are making it happen:
Rethink Leadership Criteria: Move Beyond Traditional CEO Profiles
Too often, boards and CEOs default to traditional leadership profiles – prior CEO experience, long tenure in the C-suite, or a narrow set of industry backgrounds. This unintentionally excludes many highly qualified female candidates.
Solution: Expand the criteria for leadership roles. Look at operational excellence, strategic vision, and stakeholder influence rather than just past titles. Nordstrom & Sephora have successfully promoted internal female leaders by prioritizing capability over resume checkboxes.
Prioritize P&L Ownership for High-Potential Women
One of the biggest barriers for female executives is lack of exposure to P&L roles. Many women are placed in supporting functions (HR, Legal, Marketing) rather than in operations, finance, or supply chain, which are critical stepping stones to the CEO suite.
Solution: Retailers must proactively place women into revenue-generating roles. Target, for example, has built a strong internal promotion pipeline by ensuring that high-potential female leaders take on key financial and operational responsibilities early in their careers.
Go Beyond Mentorship—Implement Executive Sponsorship
Mentorship is helpful but not enough. Women need high-level sponsorship—leaders who actively advocate for them in boardrooms, nominate them for top roles, and put them in front of decision-makers.
Solution: Companies like Best Buy and PepsiCo have formal sponsorship programs where executives are measured on their ability to elevate diverse talent. This ensures that leadership development is not left to chance.
Make Leadership Roles Sustainable for Women
Many retail and consumer brands still operate on an outdated leadership model—one that assumes 24/7 availability, heavy travel, and lack of flexibility. While this model isn’t sustainable for any executive, it often disproportionately drives women out of leadership pipelines due to caregiving responsibilities.
Solution: Companies like REI and Best Buy have implemented flexible leadership structures, ensuring that executives (regardless of gender) can perform at their highest level without burnout.
Be Transparent About Leadership Diversity Goals
Many companies say they support gender diversity but fail to track or measure progress. Companies that lead in this area—like L’Oréal and Unilever—set clear, public goals around women in leadership, tying these metrics to executive compensation.
Solution: Retailers must move beyond performative commitments and publish clear diversity goals, ensuring accountability at the highest levels.
Why DeBerry Search Associates Is the Right Partner to Build More Diverse Executive Teams
At DeBerry Search Associates, we don’t just talk about diversity—we actively build executive teams that reflect the modern retail and consumer landscape. Here’s why we’re the best search partner for companies looking to increase the number of women in leadership:
✔ We Go Beyond the Obvious Candidate Pool
Too many search firms rely on recycled talent pools that exclude high-potential, non-traditional candidates. We use deep industry networks and market intelligence to identify top-tier female executives who may not be actively looking—but are the right fit for leadership.
✔ We Understand the Retail & Consumer Space
Unlike generalist search firms, we specialize in executive search for retail, consumer, and distribution brands. We know what it takes to lead in this sector and can pinpoint the female executives best equipped to drive business success.
✔ We Prioritize Leadership Retention, Not Just Placement
Placing diverse candidates isn’t enough. We work with clients on long-term retention strategies, ensuring that female leaders thrive once they step into the C-suite.
✔ We Hold Companies Accountable for Leadership Diversity
We challenge our clients to expand their leadership criteria, rethink outdated hiring models, and build truly inclusive leadership cultures.
Final Thoughts: The Time for Action Is Now
Retail and consumer brands that fail to diversify their leadership will fall behind. Consumers expect brands to reflect the real world, and companies that prioritize diverse leadership consistently outperform their competitors.
At DeBerry Search Associates, we’re committed to helping our clients build the executive teams of the future—ones that reflect the diversity, innovation, and strategic foresight required for long-term success.