Women in the Workplace Report 2024
McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace report came out last week - the largest study looking at the state of gender equity in the workplace. It analyses data from the last decade to understand how women’s representation and experiences in the workplace have changed over that time in corporate America. The findings echo what we are seeing over here in the UK and so we think they're worth digging into.
Engaging men
The most striking thing for us was that McKinsey have included a page on the importance of engaging men to progress with gender equity in the workplace. With men holding the majority of leadership roles, it acknowledges how important their active participation is for driving sustainable change.
This is timely in the run up to our Masculinity in the Workplace event, focusing on exactly that issue - how to better bring men along to the DEI conversation (don't forget you can join us virtually by buying your tickets here!).
The McKinsey report identifies these 3 strategies for engaging men:
- Be explicit that women’s advancement also benefits men
- Make sure senior-level men are in the know and on board
- Sponsor allyship groups
And we completely agree! Any gender inclusion strategy should be considering how to engage men. What’s in it for them? Gender stereotypes harm men as well as women. So, we need to drive awareness of how men will benefit from greater gender equity, engage senior men and provide guidance on how to be an active ally.
Other key takeouts for us were:-
- Declining commitment: The report indicates a decline in companies' commitment to gender diversity with only 78% of companies prioritising it, down from 87% in 2019. Only 37% of companies offer formal mentorship programs for women.
Given this, it’s no surprise that there has been…
- Stagnation in improvement: While there’s been an increase in women holding C-suite roles (29%, up from 17% in 2015), progress in entry-level and managerial positions has slowed down - only 48% of entry-level and 39% of managerial roles are held by women.
- Microaggressions and bias are still major issues: Women, especially women of colour, continue to face workplace microaggressions and biases. Younger women are more likely than their male counterparts to experience such treatment, and there is a significant gap in how men and women perceive progress in gender equality. Senior-level men are generally more optimistic about workplace progress, often underestimating the barriers that women are still facing.
- Domestic Responsibilities and Flexibility: Although men believe they share household work equally, many women report shouldering more of the burden. This has not improved since 2016 and while more companies offer flexibility and support for caregivers, many women still struggle balancing their professional and personal responsibilities.
One thing that is clear to us is that progress in the area of gender equity is slow.
This is therefore not the time to be turning away from gender equity programmes.
Have you read the report? What were your views?
Team THC x
PS - Join us for our free webinar on 23rd October at 1pm. Click here to register.