Story at a glance
- Many women are switching jobs as they report dissatisfaction with advancement opportunities and demand more from their employers.
- New data from McKinsey highlight the reasons behind the trend and underscore potential ramifications.
- To improve retention rates, authors suggest companies increase workplace flexibility and focus more on diversity, equity and inclusion.
A new report from from McKinsey shows women leaders switched jobs at the highest rate ever recorded in 2021 — outpacing that of men in leadership roles — as they demand more opportunities to advance, increased flexibility and employer commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Companies also struggled to hold on to the few women leaders they have, while all of these trends are more pronounced for women of color, authors found.
Women face challenges in their efforts to advance within companies. Dealing with microaggressions in the workplace and receiving little recognition for work fostering inclusivity and supporting employee well-being are just two reasons women cited for deciding to switch jobs.
Data show women leaders are twice as likely to be mistaken for someone more junior and are more likely than male leaders to have a coworker receive credit for their idea.
They’re also more likely to seek out employment at companies that prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion.
Coming out of the pandemic, women may feel more empowered to demand workplace flexibility, as they took on more responsibilities at home like housework and caregiving. The report found a majority of women prefer remote and hybrid work.
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“If companies don’t take action, they won’t just lose their women leaders; they risk losing the next generation of women leaders, too,” authors wrote.
“Young women are even more ambitious, and they place a higher premium on working in an equitable, supportive, and inclusive workplace. They’re watching senior women leave for better opportunities, and they’re prepared to do the same.”
The report is based on data from more than 330 companies and surveys with over 400,000 individuals.
It revealed women, and particularly women of color, are underrepresented in corporate America. Only one in four C-Suite executives is a woman, and just one in 20 is a woman of color. The McKinsey data come on the heels of an additional study that found companies have slowed adding women to boards since the pandemic.
Two major roadblocks to achieving gender equality include fewer women than men receiving promotions and more women leaving their companies, McKinsey found.
For every 100 men promoted from entry level to manager, just 87 women achieved the same step up, and only 82 women of color are promoted. Furthermore, for each woman at the director level who gets promoted, two women directors choose to leave their company.
“As a result, men significantly outnumber women at the manager level, and women can never catch up. There are simply too few women to promote into senior leadership positions,” according to the McKinsey data.
Broken down by race, only 75 Latinas are promoted for every 100 men advancing from entry level to managerial positions, and this number is lower for Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and Indigenous women.
Black female leaders are also more likely to have their competence questioned, while 1 in 3 say they’ve been passed over for opportunities due to personal characteristics.
Certain fields have worse track records than others when it comes to promoting equality. For example, in 2021, women’s relative representation in engineering and technical fields was worse than that reported in 2018.
Women who do work in these fields are more likely to have their judgment questioned in their area of expertise than women in non-technical fields. Because engineering and technical roles are among the fastest-growing and highest-paid jobs in America, should women fail to see an equal path to advancement, it could result in larger representation and earning gaps down the line.
“The Covid-19 crisis and racial reckoning of 2020 pushed corporate America to reimagine the way we work. Two and a half years in, employees don’t want to return to the workplace of the past. They want to move forward,” authors concluded.
“Companies that rise to the moment will attract and retain women leaders—and this will lead to a better workplace for everyone.”
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