The State of Women at Work and How EA Professionals Can Help

Abstract

The World Economic Forum publishes an annual report on disparities around gender at work titled The Global Gender Gap Report. Its findings from 2022 are quite disturbing. Gender parity is not recovering; it’s getting worse. According to the report, it will take another 132 years to close the gender gap globally. Workforce outcomes for women run the risk of backsliding even further. This is a real crisis.

You might ask yourself, “How can this be?” Haven’t we made progress in this area? Why are we going backward? Sadly, women’s representation in the corporate world hasn’t improved much over the past few years. Many companies report being highly committed to gender diversity, but that commitment is not translated into meaningful progress. Not only does this hurt women, but it also impacts the company’s bottom line. Many studies suggest that more women at the top reflect better bottom-line financial results. McKinsey research has consistently found that companies in the top quartile for women on executive teams were more likely to have above-average profitability. It’s one of the top findings of McKinsey’s report they co-created with LeanIn.Org. To offer a grimmer picture, the recent Women in the Workplace report analyzed pipeline and HR data from 279 companies in North America and more than 13 million workers. They noted some glaring facts about the state of women: ● Men hold 62% of manager positions to women’s 38% ● Women are less likely to have access to senior leaders ● Women are twice as likely to be mistaken for more junior employees and more likely to deal with discrimination ● 35% of women have experienced sexual harassment at work ● Unlike popular opinion, women negotiate for raises and promotions as often as men