A new study on gender diversity in the workplace shows that women are underrepresented at every level of the corporate pipeline, and C-suite parity will take more than 100 years at the current rate of change. Produced by McKinsey & Company with LeanIn.org, “Women in the Workplace” covers the causes of gender disparity and provides recommendations to help organizations address it.
Select highlights from the report:
- Despite a common assumption that women leave because of difficulties balancing work and family, women are actually less likely to leave their companies than men, especially women in leadership roles. At the SVP level, women are 20 percent less likely to leave, and at the C suite level they are about half as likely to leave. Challenges for corporate women are more nuanced than “work-life balance” issues.
- Women are underrepresented at every level of the corporate pipeline. Based on the rate of change between 2012 and 2015, it would take 25 years to reach gender parity at the SVP level, and more than 100 years for the C suite-that’s four generations.
- A strong majority of CEOs report commitment to gender diversity, but only 37 percent of female employees believe it, and just 31 percent think gender diversity is a priority for their direct managers.
- Women feel disadvantaged at work. They are almost 4 times more likely than men to think their gender means fewer opportunities to advance. Women are 3 times more likely than men to say they have missed out on an assignment, promotion or raise because of gender.
- As women advance, they become less likely than men to work in line roles with core responsibilities, and more likely to have organizational support/operations roles in legal, human resources and information technology departments. That can mean less opportunity for women to develop the expertise considered necessary for top jobs.
- Companies offer flexibility and development programs, but with the exception of telecommuting, relatively few participate for fear of a negative impact on their careers.
Full Document
Women in the Workplace 2015Staff Resource
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