100 Years Until Gender Equality At Work

A major study conducted by LeanIn and McKinsey debunk a number of common assumptions about why women don't advance, including:

• Women drop out of the workforce to care for their families
• Women are inherently less confident then men, which accounts for why they don't reach the management ranks in greater number

Surveying 30,000 men and women at over 100 companies, the study's authors conclude that women feel as confident as men about their prospects of landing the top jobs at their companies, and motherhood, in fact, increases their appetite for promotions.

So what is the reason women don't reach the C-suite at their firms in greater number? Two things stand out:

1. Women are less interested in the top jobs compared to their male counterparts because they perceive greater trade-offs such as stress and pressure

2. Women perceive an uneven playing field, and feel their gender hinders their advancement and promotion opportunities.

Doing the math, the study concludes that women are hit with these realities in mid-career and without the intervention of senior management trying to actively solve these problems, it may well be 100 years --  at the current rate of female promotions — before there's gender equality in the C-suite of corporate America.

That is a pretty bitter pill to swallow, but we hope that this information helps some companies realize they need to make changes in policies and culture — so there is equal opportunity for advancement.

Fairygodboss is committed to improving the workplace and lives of women. 
Join us by reviewing your employer!