For other top executive positions, female representation is dismal. Women make up 12 percent of CFOs and 5 percent of CEOs among the nation's top 1,000 companies. Among Fortune 500 companies, only 4 percent of CEOs are women.

Some industries are more diverse, in very relative terms. The Korn Ferry study found that women make up 9 percent of chief executives in the "consumer" sector, compared to 6 percent in the energy sector, 5 percent in the financial and tech sectors, and only 1 percent in the life sciences sector.

Joseph McCabe, vice chairman in Korn Ferry's Global Human Resources Center of Expertise, told HR Dive that common strengths among women workers, such as a knack for negotiation and teamwork, are prized as assets in the HR department, but they do not seem to be appreciated as much for other leadership positions.

Numerous studies have documented the various obstacles that prevent women from climbing up the corporate ladder. It is not entirely clear, however, what role every potential obstacle plays.

Of course, traditional gender roles still lead many women to take time off of work to care for children, which can slow down their career progress. Companies, as well as some European countries, have sought to address this by switching from maternity leave to parental leave. Not only does that encourage parents to split the childcare, but it discourages employers from seeing women of childbearing age as a potential liability, since it is not only women who will be taking time off work in the event of a birth.