Women have made strides in the workplace in recent years, but a broken rung persists, report finds

Women in corporate America have always juggled a lot, often navigating bias and ageism at work, and the bulk of caregiver responsibilities at home. By August, more than 330,000 women had left the workforce, in part due to fewer flexible work opportunities, more caregiver responsibilities, and an uneven job market, according to data shared with the US House of Representatives’ Democratic Women’s Caucus.

Despite some progress made over the last few decades, women often lack the workplace support necessary for career advancement, with some employers having pulled back on such programs, according to a new report from LeanIn, an organization that advocates for workplace equality.

LeanIn surveyed 124 companies in the US and Canada and found that women are still underrepresented at every level of the workplace and still face a “broken rung.” Rachel Thomas, CEO and co-founder of LeanIn, told HR Brew that employers have the power to create more equal workplaces.

“There has absolutely been progress when it comes to advancing women,” Thomas told HR Brew. “The representation of women in the corporate pipeline has slowly gotten better, and those were really hard-earned gains. Those numbers did not move quickly, but over the last 10 years, we see more women, particularly in senior leadership…and that is super encouraging.”

Jumping hurdles and hoops. Women face structural hurdles at all levels, but some of the largest discrepancies appear to be in entry-level roles, according to the report. While one-third of men in entry-level roles have multiple sponsors, just 16% of women have similar support.

Women are also 13% less likely to be promoted than their male peers, despite being more motivated. Some of this may be the result of men getting management experience earlier than women. “If you manage someone, you’re learning new skills, you’re getting more exposure, you’re more likely to be on the path to promotion,” Thomas said. “You see a workplace that is particularly challenging for entry-level women.”

Research from the last four years, the most recent available, has found that women are also more likely to get promoted based on the successes they’ve already achieved, while men get promoted based on their potential. Bias plays a role. Women are less likely to be viewed as natural leaders and more likely to have to prove their ability to do a job.

“There is no surprise that the largest promotion gap in the corporate pipeline for over a decade has been at that first promotion out of the entry-level into manager roles, because it follows when you understand a lot of the biases and barriers that women tend to be up against,” Thomas said. “A lot of them are exacerbated when you’re early career. So it’s not surprising that that’s when women most experience all those headwinds.”

Women face challenges, even at senior levels, and receive less support and opportunities for advancement, the report found. And 29% of women at the senior level believe their gender is a barrier to advancement, compared to just 19% of men.

Cutting back on DEI. One in five companies reported cuts to diversity staff and resources over the past 12 months and fewer programs designed to provide career pathways for women. Just 67% of companies promoted gender diversity in 2015, compared to 88% in 2018.

“It’s hard to imagine a world where that isn’t having some level of impact on how women feel, and how optimistic they are about their prospects for advancing,” Thomas said, referencing DEI rollbacks, social media influence, and layoff news.

Of the companies that scaled back on development programs, 13% trimmed or eliminated formal sponsorship and programs meant for women, and 39% do not offer formal sponsorship programs, according to the report.

“When women receive similar career supports as men…there is no ambition gap,” Thomas said. “This is a very addressable problem, but it actually requires a greater investment in women’s careers at a time when a number of companies may be deprioritizing women'’ careers and rolling back programs that are especially beneficial to women.”

Thomas fears that women will lose momentum as employers back away from programs that were established to ensure workplace fairness. She believes progress remains possible, if companies continue investing in fairness and inclusion.

Employers can still address potential inequalities to ensure that women have the same opportunities as their male counterparts. Even as some companies cut back on programs, Thomas recommended they track and compare employee outcomes, offer a robust ERG program, and have senior leadership advocate for rising employees.

“Companies that have had a higher representation of women are higher performing companies, they do better. They have more women across the pipeline. They have more women in leadership,” Thomas said. “Companies that realize that faster progress are highly committed to gender diversity. They are highly committed to women’s career advancement. There is a strong correlation between commitment and results.”