Demographics and Gender Mix

Age

Women facility managers are an average of 45 years old. There are fewer women near retirement age (>56 years old) than men in FM (Figure 1). Considering the age disparity between genders, employers may consider the recruitment of women a strategic advantage in addressing the aging FM workforce and related attrition challenges.

Geography and Industry

Although women constitute 22% of the global FM labor force, this mix is not equal across regions. North America has the largest portion of women facility managers at 25%, followed by Europe (21%), South and Latin America (21%), Asia Pacific (18%), Africa (15%) and the Middle East (5%) (Figure 2). Women in FM are most common in four industry sectors: banking and investment (24%), healthcare (22%), education (21%) and government (19%) (Figure 3). The gender mix of common industry credentials or certificates (>3% of respondents) is also similar (Figure 4).

Primary Job Function and Level

The majority of FM professionals consider facility operations as their primary job function, regardless of their gender (Figure 5). Facility operations has the largest portion of women facility managers at 70%, followed by real estate (7%), construction and projects (4%) and interior design and space planning (4%). Women are more likely to hold design related jobs and less likely to hold engineering related jobs than men in FM, which mirrors trends in degree majors.

Women facility managers constitute almost one-third of the entry-level FM workforce (Figure 6). However, women constitute only 20% of mid-level and 15% of senior-level FM jobs. This follows a similar trend regardless of primary job functions and suggests that women are leaving the FM workforce. This highlights the need for continued recruitment of women candidates and an improved focus on retention of women facility managers.

FIGURE 5

Percentage of Respondents’ Gender by Job Function

FIGURE 6

Gender Mix by Job Level

Education

Women facility managers have similar levels of higher education as men in FM. Forty-six percent of women facility managers hold a bachelor’s degree and 24% hold a master’s degree, compared to 42% and 28% of men facility managers, respectively (Figure 7).

Facility managers with college degrees commonly major in business management or facility management (Figure 8), regardless of gender. Business management and facility management programs are producing graduates with a fairly equal gender mix, but a small portion of women are entering FM from college (23%) (Figure 9). Sustainable recruitment sources should be developed to grow women participation in FM. While women facility managers are more likely to have degrees in liberal arts or design and men in engineering (Figure 10), women starting careers with engineering degrees make higher annual salaries than their male peers. The reverse is true for men with liberal arts degrees. Women with the most common majors (facility management and business management) have similar or higher annual base salaries than men (Figure 11).

FIGURE 7

Percentage of Respondents’ Gender by Higher Education