Female leaders are as ambitious as men
We are pleased to share the latest results of the "Women in the Workplace" report by McKinsey, in partnership with LeanIn.Org, which shows that women are leaving their companies in unprecedented numbers to get more out of their careers. Stark trend we thought. So how does this come about?
There are 3 main reasons for this trend:
Women leaders are just as ambitious as men, but at many companies they face "extra obstacles" or expectations that make it harder for them to get ahead.
Women leaders are overworked and undervalued. The McKinsey study shows, compared to men at their level, that women leaders do more to support employee well-being and promote diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) - work that improves employee retention and satisfaction, but is not (yet) formally rewarded in most companies through, e.g., an extra bonus.
Women leaders demand more flexibility from their employers than men and place more importance on working for a company that is more committed to employee welfare and DEI.
The report also emphasizes that the impact of women leaving to seek better opportunities elsewhere could have further consequences in the future. If companies do not take action, they risk losing not only their current women leaders, but also the next generation. Young women are even more ambitious and value a fair, supportive and inclusive workplace. They see experienced women leaving for better employers and are willing to do the same. The power of role models comes to bear here as well.
The factors that drive current women leaders to leave their companies are even more important for the next generation of women leaders
Ressource: Women in the Workplace report from McKinsey, in partnership with LeanIn.Org
Despite the modest increase (since McKinsey's first report eight years ago), women, and particularly women of color or of different cultural/religious backgrounds, are still dramatically underrepresented in the business of tech companies. This is a paradox as awareness and discussion around DEI grows.
The "broken step" (the idea of a barrier in the career ladder) remains unresolved. For the eighth consecutive year, the survey again finds that women are not taking the first step to manager.
Conclusion
The report highlights that despite some progress, we still have a long way to go to achieve true equality in our working world. The report shows that many companies are not doing enough to support and retain women leaders, and that this trend is likely to continue if no counteraction is taken.
Companies, meaning today's managers, must take concrete steps to create a more equitable, supportive and inclusive workplace if they want to retain and attract top talent.
What can you do?
As a manager or colleague, there are several things you can do to promote diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace.
Talk to and listen to
Talk to and listen to your employees and other people. What do I mean by that? Let me use a metaphor: If you don't personally experience certain things, such as menstrual pain, it can be difficult to understand the impact it can have on a life. But just because one or more women experience menstrual pain does not mean that all women experience it the same way.
The same goes for discrimination and microaggressions. Not everyone experiences them the same way, so it is important to remain curious and be courageous in engaging in conversations to gain more insight and understand nuances well.
Continuous learning
There are many resources available to learn more about DEI. I am a big fan of podcasts that allow me to gain new insights while driving from A to B. Two podcasts I will highly recommend are "All Things Inclusive" by Hanan Challouki and "Dare to Lead" by Brené Brown.
"All Things Inclusive" focuses on various topics around the broad theme of DEI. This podcast is particularly valuable because Hanan provides insight into our Belgian society. I didn't pick any particular episode because they are all very informative. Thank you Hanan for sharing your valuable experience!
"Dare to Lead" covers a wide range of leadership topics, but also includes episodes that delve deeper into DEI-related topics. Some specific episodes worth listening to are:
"Inclusivity at Work: The Heart of Hard Conversations" with Aiko Bethea and
"The Heart of Leadership, Part 1 & 2" with Aiko Bethea & Ruchika Tulshyan
By taking your time to talk to people who are different from yourself, you can learn more about how someone thinks, feels and what you can do to bring these people into a constantly changing (work) world as well.
I invite you to take concrete steps to create a more inclusive and equitable workplace. Feel free to give me a call or send us an email (any at clusity.be) if you'd like to sit down with me about this!
McKinsey's full report can be found here download :D
