The New World of Work: Will Women Be Included?

Our mission at theBoardlist is sharply focused on equality, inclusion, and representation, so conversations around these topics are at the core of our team’s daily communications. But how often are these topics discussed in your daily work life?

In partnership with Qualtrics, we conducted a survey last month (June 2021) as a follow-up to our previous July 2020 survey amid the swift implications COVID had on the workforce, particularly working parents.

Last year’s survey results made it clear that women were disproportionately affected by the pandemic, foreshadowing the mass exodus women made from the workforce in 2020. And now seven months into 2021, women’s participation in the US labor force is currently at a 30-year low.

We surveyed the US workforce again to see if the pandemic-induced challenges for working parents were subsiding, but alas, a year after our initial July 2020 survey, not much has changed for women in the workplace:

• 75% of working women say they handled the bulk of child care responsibilities in their family
• Women are 65% more likely to say their mental health has declined over the course of the pandemic than men
• 52% of employees agree that having women in leadership roles has or would improve flexibility and work-from-home options offered by their company

Today’s headlines juxtapose employee-centered flexible work policy announcements with women leaving the labor force in droves amid burnout and inflexible schedules. This disconnect goes further in our survey with:

• 42% of employees saying they still feel pressure to work in-person even if their employer is offering a hybrid or remote option
• 45% of employees think those who work in-person from an office have a career advantage for promotions and raises compared to remote employees

And for those with children in the household, the choice between work, family, and mental health is a daily battle with 45% of working parents feeling that they’ve been discriminated against in the workplace as a result of focusing on family responsibilities.

Working parents at the manager, director, and VP levels were 40% more likely to feel discriminated against than those at the individual contributor level. Those at the manager (54%), director (51%), and VP (54%) levels answered yes to feeling discriminated against at a higher rate than those at the individual contributor level (38%).

In the Fortune 500, women hold 41 of the CEO roles and 17% of board seats, which is a 22% and 15% gain over the past decade respectively. However, overall women in the labor force drastically decreased this past 18 months, with over 3 million women exiting the workforce. This survey does bring hope though:

• 53% agree that their company has been proactive about increasing the number of women in leadership roles at their company
• And worth noting, at companies with 500-999 employees, 76% agreed that their company is committed to placing women in leadership roles — a substantially higher percentage compared to larger companies at 62%

From a board perspective, a recent report found that companies with 30%+ female board members outperformed their less gender-diverse peers in 11 of 15 S&P 500 sectors and had 54% more revenue growth. And in the labor force, women have the potential to produce a $20 trillion economic boost by 2050, according to Bloomberg - “policy changes that result in more women entering the workforce, like those that bolster female access to secondary education, child care, and flexible work arrangements, have the potential to “light a fire” under global growth over the next three decades.”

A new world of work will emerge from 2020’s lessons and we hope this rebuilding period will include flexibility for parents, leadership opportunities for women, and mental health acknowledgment for all.

“Employees need flexibility in the workplace, which is abundantly clear from these survey results. However, flexibility alone doesn’t equate to the retention of top talent if it’s not thoughtfully implemented. Flexibility requires cultivating a culture of trust, inclusivity and empathy, such that it doesn’t end up resulting in a loss of access to opportunity.”
Megan Wang, VP of Operations at theBoardlist.

theBoardlist is a community of people who believe that we achieve better outcomes through diverse perspectives, with the ultimate goal of companies achieving full and true representation in their leadership so that they can better serve all of their stakeholders - customers, employees, and their broader communities.