Whenever we talk about women in the workplace the conversation often turns to what we can do so more women can climb the corporate career ladder, but what if women aren’t interested in shattering the glass ceiling?

According to a new study, the Global Workforce Leadership Survey, only 36 percent of women aspire to C-level executive positions at their company versus 64 percent of men. Is it possible that in addition to a wage gap, we also have an “aspiration gap” on our hands?

According to Fortune, an obvious factor that explains why fewer women respondents expressed an interest in executive positions is not for a lack of ambition, but rather a lack of women role models at the top. After all, there are only 24 female CEOs in the United States’ biggest companies. This is the largest number of female CEOs ever recorded by Fortune since they started compiling statistics in 1998. One of the most notable this year is Mary Barra, the new chief executive of General Motors who is the first woman to lead a major automotive company in history.

One by one we celebrate the triumphs of these women climbing the corporate career ladder rung by rung, but in reality 24 is not a number to brag about. In fact, although women hold almost 52 percent of all professional-level jobs, they only make up 14.6 percent of executive officers and only 4.6 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs. The breakdown isn’t pretty when you look at it by industry either:

• In the financial services industry, women make up 54.2 percent of the labor force, but only 14.4 percent of executive officers and only 18.3 percent of board directors.
• In the health care and social assistance industry, women account for 78.4 percent of the labor force and only 14.6 percent of executive offices and only 12.4 percent of board directors.
• In the legal field, women account for 45.4 percent of associates but only 25 percent of non-equity partners and only 15 percent of equity partners.
• In the medical field, women account for 34.3 percent of all physicians and surgeons but only 15.9 percent of medical school deans.
• In the technology sector, women only hold 9 percent of management positions and only account for 14 percent of senior management positions at Silicon Valley startups.

With so few women at the top across the board, and ample proof that women face many obstacles to get to the top, there is certainly a shortage of female role models for women to aspire to. “You can’t be what you can’t see. If I look up the food chain in my company and I don’t want to be any of the people that I see, what’s my incentive to advance?” says Caroline Ghosn, founder of Levo League, an online community for women navigating their careers with over nine million members.

In addition to a lack of role models, women also face internal challenges that limit their potential says Claudia Chan, the CEO of S.H.E. Global Media:

More so than men, women internalize what’s happening around them; it’s a feminine trait. If she hasn’t truly done the inner work to identify a strong foundation of inner values and goals–she will be more susceptible to ‘negative self-talk’ patterns. The most common I have seen in women are being overly critical of one’s self; feeling the pressure to be perfect; seeking validation from others; and never feeling like they’re doing enough or caught up. Unfortunately traditional education does not teach women these ‘inner leadership’ building tools, and media has historically taught women to care more about their appearance…so if one’s upbringing didn’t give her that value system — an inner glass ceiling can be formed at a young age. And because how she thinks shapes her emotions, and therefore her behavior and actions…internal forces limit female potential as much as external ones do.

A lack of women leadership isn’t just detrimental for women and future leaders, but it’s also a disadvantage for companies themselves. Several studies have shown that having women in C-level positions and on boards leads to better overall financial performance. Fast Company interestingly explores this idea using a theory in mathematics that says if A=B and B=C then A=C.

Let’s break it down. First let’s define our variables:

• A = Women
• B = Successful Team
• C = Financial performance

According to the mathematical theory this means that if having women on boards and on C-suite teams generates more effective teams, and if more effective teams generate better bottom line financial performance, then having women on boards and on C-suite teams generates better corporate financial performance.

There’s no arguing with math, right?

All joking aside, Fast Company makes a very interesting point and one that has been proven time and time again: women are good for business.  We need everyone, women and men alike, to not only imagine more women at the top, but to create actual opportunities for women to make this a reality.

This article was originally published on Care2. Read the original article here.