We may have come a long way in attempting to bridge the gender gap in the workplace, particularly when it comes to senior female appointments, but there is still much more work to be done.

In October 2023, McKinsey released its latest Women In The Workplace annual report. Its findings revealed that, despite women being “more ambitious than ever”, to secure top roles and push their career progression, the reality of women’s reputation just isn’t keeping up.

The survey, which polled more than 27,000 employees across North America and Canada, and 270 HR leaders, had some positives to share. For example, women’s reputation in the C-Suite was found to currently be at an all time high, but some significant challenges were also brought to light.

Alongside the ever-present issue of under-representation of minorities, the report highlighted a slow-down in the talent progression pipeline that seems to be preventing women from either gaining a foot in the management door or progressing up the senior management ladder. Less of a “glass ceiling” and more of a “broken rung” the report states.

The “Broken Rung”

It is not, the report states, that women lack the desire to take on such roles, but rather the workplace is often not set up to accommodate the realities of working women’s lives. Alongside a greater number of women voicing desires to be promoted to the next level (roughly 80% of those surveyed), came the finding that flexibility has helped to facilitate such desires becoming a reality.

With many workplaces now demanding a post-pandemic return to the physical office and a clamp-down on working hours there is, perhaps, a real danger of the small, positive progress that has been recorded by McKinsey slipping away.

Such findings and sentiments also ring true in a recent study completed by faculty at Durham University Business School, Leeds University Business School and University International Business and Economics.

The study, conducted by Dr Ivan Lim, alongside Professors Jie Chen, Chenxing Jing, Kevin Keasey and Bin Xu, explored workplace satisfaction – seeking to understand whether women valued their work-life balance more than men, and if such values impacted upon firm performance.

To do so, the researchers reviewed job satisfaction data on over 2,000 different firms, using Glassdoor – the online job and company review platform. In all, the dataset consisted of almost 100,000 job role reviews, looking into aspects such as work/life balance, the corporate culture, senior leadership, career opportunities and an overall rating.

As Glassdoor also provided the characteristics of those workers who submitted job reviews, the researchers were able to identify whether the work-life balance of a job role differed between men and women, as well as whether the means of their progression into more senior roles had an impact.

The research revealed two important findings;

1. Women, on average, appeared to value their work-life balance much more than men when at a junior-level, but not at the managerial-level
2. Women were much less satisfied within their job roles than male colleagues who held the same positions

In regards to the first finding, the question remains, is it really a lack of value for work-life balance displayed by women in senior-level management roles? Or is it that such roles are given to, applied for by those who face less of a juggle when it comes to the conflicting realities of work and family?

With the emphasis on work-life balance disappearing at the managerial-level, this certainly suggests that women with personal responsibilities may be held from, or actively choose not to take on additional workplace responsibilities.

A recent survey, covered by the Guardian newspaper in the UK seems to suggest this might be the case, finding one in seven HR decision-makers rating men as the better candidate for top jobs, and suggesting that age discrimination for female workers can also come into play in hiring decisions.

This discrimination taps into job satisfaction too. One reason for women experiencing this at a lower level, according to Dr Lim and his co-researchers, stems from the prevailing stereotypical pressures women face in regards to family life which, in turn, impacts upon their careers.

Family duties and the typical role of women in the home means that, more often than not it is women who are much more likely to have to balance their work and home lives – and will take action to do so, whether by requesting flexibility or holding back on applying for a more senior role, therefore placing more emphasis on their firm’s policies regarding work-life balance as compared to most men, they suggest.

Fixing the ladder

So what can be done to remove the barriers and redress the barriers? In reality, perhaps such questions do not require radical thinking to answer. We know, for instance that happy, fulfilled workers are amongst the most productive and can prove to be an asset for their employers. So surely the simple solution is to structure work in a way that best supports staff needs?

Dr Lim’s research indeed suggests that firm performance appears to be higher for companies with less disparity in the satisfaction gap between women and men – and whilst there are many external factors that could affect this association – it stands to reason that happy staff bring in good results.

The key for those structuring senior leadership teams is to be willing to make such adjustments and work with those whose satisfaction seems to be at odds with the company, instead of choosing to work with the easiest candidated.

“There are a number of things companies can do to support (female) staff in their career progression,” says Dr Lim. “For instance, instead of prioritising individuals who are more willing to sacrifice work-life balance, firms can improve the quality and equality of their promotions procedures by identifying ways to address broader organisational issues that contribute to an overall positive work culture. This can be quite beneficial for firms themselves, as well as society.”

Additionally, implementing greater family-friendly policies such as increased remote working and flexible hours could help benefit women’s career progression at all stages of life, helping to target the underlying issues that impede women’s progress in the workplace. One thing we know for sure is that the demand for flexibility in work is not a post-covid hangover nor is it solely a female-led demand. Increasingly, and regardless of gender, Gen Z are seeing flexibility as a basic right of employment, rather than a favour. Employers are going to need to adjust their thinking in order to keep attracting the best people.

Going further, paid family leave and employer-sponsored childcare could help close the gender satisfaction gap, by easing the work-life balance challenges female staff typically face. If this is too much for employers – especially those feeling the pinch – keeping an open mind and a kind ear open and being willing to put employee needs first is no less impactful than a cash cushion.

As always, those whose ideal remain fixed at one point in time will find themselves being left behind.

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