Every organization hopes to be a welcoming and positive place for everyone to work, but it takes work to get there! Women in today’s workforce see more opportunities, but plenty of historical disparities are still placing obstacles in their path. At Blue Rock, we know organizations thrive when their people thrive – so let’s take a look at three trends in women’s experiences in the workplace today.
Women’s Progress Slows on the Way Up
McKinsey’s annual Women in the Workplace report highlights a mixed bag when it comes to women in the corporate world. Women today occupy 29% of C-suite positions, up from 17% a decade ago. That being said, women remain noticeably outnumbered by men at every step of the corporate ladder, and the “broken rung syndrome” is a key reason why.
According to the Harvard Business Review, women earn 59% of all bachelor’s degrees, 63% of all master’s degrees, and 57% of all doctorate degrees. But then, only 48% of entry-level corporate employees are women – and, when the first promotion opportunity comes around, only 81 women are promoted for every 100 men. That disparity continues growing with every rung up the ladder. The outlook is even worse for women of color, who occupy just 7% of C-suite roles.
Organizations looking to attract top talent can’t afford to overlook this pattern. Today’s most in-demand employees at every level (but especially in younger generations) are laser-focused on career development, and they’re willing to move around to get it. On the other hand, companies that can show a clear path for growth – with examples – for talented women are more likely to attract and retain the talent they need to achieve their business goals.
Flexibility Meets Ambition
As with most employees in general, women are prioritizing flexibility and work-life balance – but they often struggle to actually take advantage of those benefits. CNBC’s annual Women at Work survey reported that 40% of women say they’re too concerned to use flexible benefits like paid leave, work-from-home or flex time, fearing it could interfere with their career goals. Whether it’s a perception of not being a “team player,” the so-called “motherhood penalty,” or just a fear of missing out, the result is the same: women avoiding the very benefits they want most.
flexibility comes into conflict with career growth goals. In the CNBC survey, 87% of women describe themselves as ambitious, and 48% say they’re “very” ambitious. Organizations must have a plan in place to address this conflict if they want to retain talented women.
In short, the solution requires two things: communication and living your values. Leaders should model and communicate a culture where work-life balance is genuinely prioritized and where teams support each other to avoid burnout. Then, follow it up with actions that align with these values at every level of the workforce.
Reducing Bias in Culture
Despite making significant strides, women’s progress in the workplace still faces a number of barriers – many of which are due to deeply embedded, perhaps even unconscious biases. The Harvard Business Review found that women face cultural issues such as:
- Women are nearly twice as likely as their male peers to be mistaken for someone more junior.
- Women are more likely to have colleagues question their judgement or qualifications.
- 37% of women in leadership say others have taken credit for their ideas, compared with 27% of men.
- Women are more likely to report that “personal” qualities (such as gender or parenthood status) have contributed to their being passed over for advancement.
- Women are less likely than men to start out in line roles, while line roles have 20% higher lifetime earnings than support staff roles.
Addressing these can be complicated, especially with rollbacks in programs designed to address these very disparities. Once again, leaders can drive change by example. Look for opportunities to provide across-the-board support, to champion women, and to step in when microaggressions or biased behavior occurs.
Blue Rock Search is committed to providing talent solutions that drive success and improve your employment brand. Get in touch with us to talk more about building a sustainable strategy for hiring and retaining top talent in a way that ensures everyone can succeed.