McKinsey’s latest Women in the Workplace Report calls it “The Big Breakup.” It’s a phenomenon wherein women, especially those in leadership or executive positions, are choosing to leave their companies in search of more meaningful work and organizations that better align with their values.
Despite a strong effort into DEI, women still face more challenges than their male counterparts in advancing their careers. The McKinsey study found that women are more likely to be overlooked for promotions at the management level, a factor they call a “broken rung” in reference to the bottom stages of the management ladder. As a result, women are outnumbered at the top, especially women of color.
Women who make it to the C-suite face great adversity on the way up, including belittling behavior from male colleagues, microaggression, or having their decisions questioned at every turn. Their personal values inform what they expect from their employers, and they place a high value on employee wellbeing, flexibility, DEI, and a supportive internal culture.
But although women leaders are frequently the champions of DEI within organizations, they are not often recognized for their efforts or given the credit that is their due.
If employers do not recognize the issue and take steps to change the status quo, McKinsey warns that we risk losing not only many of our brightest women executives but also the next generation.
Young, ambitious women prioritize flexibility, wellbeing, and DEI commitment when looking for job opportunities. If these qualities do not exist, the company may struggle to recruit or retain them as employees.
The Impact of Gender Inequality
Without gender equality in the workplace, it will become even more difficult for organizations to recruit and retain talented female professionals. Without diverse representation at the leadership level, the implications on business outcomes could be disastrous.
It’s certainly true that companies with a strong DEI focus tend to outperform their peers financially and demonstrate higher customer satisfaction ratings.
Additionally, mixed-gender teams can reduce groupthink, enhance creativity and problem-solving skills, and facilitate better communication and empathy between team members as they come from different perspectives and backgrounds. Without proper support systems, such as flexible working policies or robust DEI initiatives, organizations risk losing out on the valuable benefits associated with more diverse teams.
It’s Not Just About Gender
Gender is not the only attribute that invites bias in the workplace. Race, age, identity, sexual orientation, religion, and disability are all factors. And while men are also subject to bias for the same reasons, women face it much more often—women from diverse backgrounds doubly so— and are thus faced with significant barriers to advancement.
The report’s findings underscored these experiences:
- Latina and Black women were less likely to feel their career objectives were supported or encouraged. They are also more likely to be questioned about their ethnicity.
- Asian and Black women are less apt to have been praised for their work or offered a raise.
- Women with disabilities continue to have their competency challenged or have others take credit for their accomplishments.
- Women with disabilities or identifying as LQBTQ+ more frequently experience microaggressions.
Despite these concerning results, the study also finds that women of color are highly ambitious—much more so than white women—even though they get significantly less support and encouragement. These women want to be high-level executives. Companies must recognize this so they can provide them with what they need to grow.
Avoiding the Big Breakup: Prioritizing Flexible, Remote, and Asynchronous Work
2021 saw female leaders leaving their positions at a rate previously unseen in the history of the State of Women in the Workplace Report. They began collecting data in 2017.
The pandemic changed workplace dynamics. Many women were forced to leave their jobs to care for their home and family. Priorities shifted. Work transformed. Today, women place a higher value on flexibility than on salary and will not hesitate to change jobs or move on if their companies cannot accommodate them.
Businesses that offer remote work or asynchronous schedules are preferred. Given a choice between a company offering a higher salary but no flexibility vs. one with lower pay and ultimate flexibility, there is no contest.
Women feel trusted and valued by their employers when they have autonomy and flexibility. The more power they have to choose, the happier they are and the less likely to leave.
- 81% of women who liked their jobs are were afforded the ability to work the way they want reported they are seldom burned out. 64% of that group said they were unlikely to leave their jobs in the next year. 67% of this group’s women felt they had equal opportunities.
- 61% of women surveyed were happy with their jobs, but only 41% said they were unlikely to leave within the year if they didn’t have flexibility. In this group, only 47% felt they had equal job opportunities.
Only 1% of women surveyed in the report stated they preferred to work on-site and were clearly outliers. This statistic, in particular, should be an eye-opener for many employers, particularly those that still feel the in-person model has the most merit.
Remote and Flexible Work Mitigates Workplace Bias, but Culture Still Counts
As for why women stay with their companies, the overarching reason is flexibility. Interestingly, many women cite experiencing fewer bias incidents, such as microaggressions and demeaning behavior. They are judged more on the quality of their work and output and less based on personal opinions.
Such is certainly the case for women with disabilities or chronic conditions, as it gives them more control over their work environment and supports them in maintaining their health, happiness, and wellbeing.
Companies are also reaping the benefits of remote work as it pertains to diversity. 71% of HR professionals who participated in the survey report that the strategy has helped them become more diverse.
Employees that work primarily from home are more likely to be women, and many are quite happy to do so. Still, there is more to the story and more work to be done if we are to solve the looming crisis. When women work solely from home, they may have fewer opportunities for advancement. It is up to leadership to establish and prioritizes an inclusive culture so women can thrive in their positions and achieve their career potential.
Towards True Gender Equality
Circling back to our earlier discussion on women in leadership positions, it’s easy to conclude that flexible work and DEI are essential to attracting and recruiting talented women. However, companies must also take a proactive stance in affording them opportunities to advance as far as possible. Failure to do so will result in a lack of diversity and incapacity to compete with industry peers.
Gender inequality is still pervasive within many workplaces today. While progress has been made over the past few decades in achieving greater gender parity in the workplace, employers must continue taking proactive steps toward fostering and nurturing an inclusive culture that provides equal opportunities for all employees regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or age.
Doing so will help ensure employee satisfaction and help companies nurture leadership talent from within, providing value that resonates from the top down.