Date
9-17-2026
Department
Graduate School of Business
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Organization and Management (PhD)
Chair
MeLisa Rogers
Keywords
women in leadership, C-suite advancement, technology firms, succession planning, executive sponsorship
Disciplines
Business | Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations
Recommended Citation
Obey, Joy Lynn, "Underrepresentation of Women in C-Suite Positions in North American Technology Companies" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 8910.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/8910
Abstract
Women remain underrepresented in C-suite leadership within North American technology firms despite continued organizational attention to diversity and inclusion. The purpose of this flexible-design qualitative multiple case study was to explore how organizational cultures, structures, leadership-development practices, and succession-planning systems influenced women’s advancement toward executive leadership. Guided by a constructivist paradigm, Transformational Leadership Theory, and Social Role Theory, the study examined the experiences of 26 women who currently held, previously held, or occupied near-C-suite roles in North American technology firms. Data were collected through 26 semi-structured individual interviews and six focus groups. Member checking was completed by 25 participants, and thematic analysis was supported through NVivo, analytic memoing, bracketing, triangulation, repeated transcript review, and maintenance of an audit trail. Five themes emerged. Women’s advancement was shaped by access to executive visibility, sponsorship, influential networks, and strategically important assignments. Formal leadership-development and succession-planning systems supported advancement when access and accountability were embedded in the process. Gendered assessments of readiness, credibility, confidence, assertiveness, technical authority, and cultural fit created additional barriers. Meaningful progress required structural accountability rather than symbolic diversity commitments. The findings suggest that technology firms may strengthen women’s executive advancement through transparent succession criteria, equitable access to high-impact assignments, active sponsorship, broader readiness standards, and accountability.
