It’s 3 a.m. and I wish I was naked.

Instead I’m dizzy and drained from a Fashion Week party. I’m also trapped in a designer dress; I can’t reach its zipper without sawing off my arms. Earlier I squeezed this thing over my body, now it’s a silk-satin war zone. I twist. I heave. I try yoga. Nothing works, but a thought struts through my brain: This dress is gorgeous but deadly — of course it was designed by a man.

Then I wonder if I’m insane. After all, many style stars — Raf Simons, Joseph Altuzarra, Virgil Abloh — make easy pieces for cool girls. Still, the thought nags: Would a female designer, or even a label with a female CEO, make a dress so complicated it should come with its own emergency exit?

There may not be enough available info to answer. According to The Business of Fashion, only 40 percent of womenswear designers and 20 percent of CEOs are female. Another study from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and Glamour says a man in fashion is 500 percent more likely to get promoted than his female colleague. How can an industry for women fail to fuel female talent? Those on the front lines say it’s a combo of corporate culture, educational bias and an old-school mentality on sex appeal.

First, “there’s the bad assumption that men are better at business,” says Fern Mallis, the former head of IMG Fashion who created New York Fashion Week in 1993. She cites former Bergdorf Goodman president Dawn Mello and sportswear pioneer Claire McCardle as outliers, along with Burberry’s Rose Marie Bravo.

“If you’re talented and tenacious, you’ll succeed regardless,” Mallis adds. But she also admits that, while helming Fashion Week, she was often the only woman in the room. “I was growing a huge division at a major company, but my office often felt like a boy’s club. At the time, I didn’t see how much that affected things, like how people were acknowledged and rewarded for their work. Now I realize it mattered.”

The bias often starts with the schools training talent. “Professors said, ‘Find a backer. You’re too creative to do business,’ ” recalls designer Cynthia Rowley. “The assumption that I couldn’t [lead a company] was drilled into my head, even though as a designer knowing business has informed everything I do. I had to teach myself, because school didn’t.”

Mallis agrees: “If I could give female design students one piece of advice, I’d say learn finance. If anyone doubts you — and someone always will — you can send a spreadsheet of the numbers on your side.”

Here’s a number that isn’t on our side: 0. That’s how many female photographers shot a major magazine cover this September. “I’ve heard execs say they don’t want a woman shooting,” says a well-known consultant. “They believe men know what a sexy woman looks like, and sex sells the clothes.” Another exec says, “I heard one CEO say, ‘Men love to make women beautiful. Women love to make them look weird so they’re not competition.’” It’s total BS — see Stella McCartney’s bombshell dresses or photographer Ellen von Unwerth’s steamy pictures for proof — but the bias persists.

Things are un peau better in Paris, where women rule brands like Christian Dior, Givenchy and Chloé. “Female designers have always been a big part of our fashion landscape,” says Laure Hériard Dubreuil, a Paris native who owns the popular Webster boutique in Soho. “So many labels were founded by women, from Chanel to Sonia Rykiel. Female designers naturally have a deeper understanding of what women want to wear or the feeling clothes give women — which helps!”

Of course, France also has universal health care and subsidized child care.

“Nobody at work assumes a new father has less time for work,” says Mallis of American workplace culture. “But mothers are often expected to drop everything for their family.”

Studies say one-third of female fashion executives believe parenthood slowed their career. Less than 10 percent of men say the same.

While some women do rule New York Fashion Week — Tory Burch, Diane von Furstenberg, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen of The Row — many of them come from privilege (read: money). While that doesn’t (and shouldn’t!) negate their incredible talent and work ethic, it does help with startup cash, child care and other benefits that ease the path to success. As for the less blessed? Good luck.

This isn’t a rallying cry to delete guys from the fashion world. We need them, we want them and we buy tons of their clothes. But the percentage of female leaders in an industry for women is lower than a kitten heel. That’s not a coincidence; it’s a systemic problem. The good news: After seeing its survey results, the CFDA is lobbying for more inclusion from its members, suggesting brands commit to free finance workshops, flex time for new moms and executive mentorship to help women stuck below the C-suite.

Until then, I’m still stuck in this dress — but at least I look sexy, right?