Standing in the fourth row of black belts at the 116 th ITF Taekwon-do International Instructor Course in New York , I witnessed a real-life representation of the gender leadership gap. Women were well-represented in the ranks of 1 st Degrees, showed up to a lesser extent among 2 nd and 3 rd Dans, could be seen here and there in my line of 4 th Dans, but only one or two stood in the front three lines. I literally got goose bumps when a woman was promoted to Master (7 th Degree), joining just one other female Master in the room. It made me want to ask them: How? What’s the secret? The decrease in female representation with seniority is not unique to martial arts, of course. One of the best visualizations of the leadership gap in business appears here . Similar trends had shown up in academia and in politics . The reasons for these gaps remind me of the reasons why there aren’t more female Taekwon-do Masters. History Taekwon-do (ITF) was founded by General Choi Ho
This blog contains an eclectic array of tidbits of my life. As a behavioral economist, I write about preferences, beliefs, gender gaps, persuasion, and other topics. I also post about my other passions: Taekwon-Do, food, fashion, and travel. Finally, as a working mom, I am forever seeking that elusive balance between parenthood, career, and hobbies. Find me on Twitter @OlgaShurchkov and my TKD Instagram @olga5thdan