For women in the workplace, it’s becoming clear that the post-pandemic era offers good and bad news.
Over the period 2012 to 2022, the unemployment rate for women remained above the national average. In 2012, the unemployment rate for women was 3.7 percentage points higher than the rate for men, while in 2022, a gap of 2.9 percentage points was observed.
The current unemployment rate for women is 35.5% compared to 32.6% for men. In South Africa, the labour force participation rate for women in Q2:2022 is 53% compared to 64.4% for men, a gap of 11.4 percentage points.
The absorption rate represents the share of the working-age population that is used by the economy. Women have the lowest absorption rate at 34.2% in Q2:2022, lower than their male counterparts at 43.4%. The noticeable gap between men and women in absorption rate can be observed from 2012 – 2022. For women in the workplace, it’s becoming clear that the post-pandemic era offers good and bad news.
Yet according to Lean In and McKinsey’s recent Women in the Workplace report, we’re in the midst of what its writers call a ‘great breakup’ – a phenomenon causing female leaders to leave their jobs at the highest rate ever witnessed.
For individual women, the move from one role to another may represent progress – but for ambitious firms focused on growth, stemming this exodus of female talent is vital.
Setting the scene
Put simply, most companies can’t afford to lose female leaders. They don’t have enough of them as it is.
In 2021, I supported a BrandedU and WOMEN Inc. campaign that highlighted this issue in my home country, The Netherlands, where there are more CEOs named Peter than women CEOs.
Lean In and McKinsey’s study points to the same problem. It found that only one in four C-suite leaders is a woman, while just one in 20 is a woman of colour. They put this down to the ‘broken rung’ women encounter when they first try to step up into management: a point in their careers where for every 100 men promoted, just 87 women move up the ladder.
Even worse, for every woman at the director level who is promoted, two are now choosing to leave their company. This matters not only on principle but because diversity in businesses drives success, encourages productivity and helps to establish a healthy company culture.
As a female leader of diverse teams in 120 markets worldwide, here’s what I’ve learned about how companies can turn the ‘great breakup’ into the great make-up.
Women want work-life balance.
First and foremost, firms need to consider the balance between the ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors that affect women’s willingness to stay in their roles.
Key among pull factors is a clear, effective hybrid working policy. According to Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford economics professor and world-renowned expert on hybrid working, companies that offer this kind of flexibility can expect to see quit rates decline by as much as 35%.
Hybrid working is especially important for women, who still tend to shoulder more domestic responsibilities than men. It makes a vital difference in my life: I’m empowered to co-parent my daughter, take good care of myself and progress in my career – priorities that would be far more difficult to manage successfully if I were travelling back and forth to a central office every day.
By reducing the need for commuting, companies give back valuable time to their people. With exhaustion and burnout rates highest among women, this is of particular significance for female employees – and the firms that need to keep them.
Post-pandemic, few of us want to return to ‘business as usual, but it seems women are especially reluctant. The Women in the Workplace report clarifies that young women are highly ambitious but not prepared to sacrifice their well-being to advance at work. IWG’s own data paints a similar picture, with 72% of people saying they’d forgo a 10% pay rise in favour of retaining hybrid working.
What does this mean for companies? That hybrid working is essential for existing female employees and attracting fresh female talent. Without it, firms will struggle to recruit or retain women at all levels, seriously damaging diversity and hampering their future success.
Consider company culture
When it comes to ‘push’ factors, company culture can be a significant influence on women’s decisions to abandon leadership roles.
According to Women in the Workplace, many experience microaggressions that undermine their authority. The report found that colleagues are more likely to question a female leader’s judgement or suitability for her role and also stated that women reported personal characteristics, such as being a parent, have played a part in them being passed over for promotion.
In other words, the presence of women in an organisation – even at senior levels – doesn’t mean the firm has yet to achieve fairness. Even now, female colleagues seem more likely to undertake unpaid, undervalued office ‘housework’ such as watering plants, tidying communal areas and ensuring the kitchen is stocked. To retain female talent, companies need to consider the gap that might exist between how equal culture looks and how equal it feels.
Investing in women via coaching schemes and ensuring fair recruitment for promotions is key. Throughout my time at IWG, I’ve benefited hugely from the mentorship of Mark Dixon, who’s always been a strong advocate and ally.
I regularly challenge the cultural norms and social conditioning that can hold women back with my own teams. Perfectionism is a perfect example: women are raised to try and get everything right, while men feel freer to make mistakes. I tell all my people that being 70% sure about something is usually sure enough! Adopting that ‘can do’ approach enables innovation across the board, but it’s especially liberating for women.
Firms that consider what people and women need in terms of motivation, encouragement and confidence-building will find it a worthwhile effort.
Making hybrid work
Adopting hybrid working is a positive step towards improved female talent recruitment and retention. However, it’s not a panacea: firms need to create their hybrid policies with care, offer adequate training for hybrid leaders and continuously monitor how well the model works.
It’s also worth noting that hybrid working is more likely to help level the playing field if male and female employees are encouraged to take up the offer equally. Allowing the development of ‘two tier’ teams, where some (likely male) employees spend more time at the company HQ than their female colleagues, could accidentally entrench, rather than ease, unfairness.
This is one reason to consider the provision of local, flexible workspace for employees: professional environments close to home where they can work without domestic distractions and the burden of a long commute. Major corporations such as Standard Chartered Bank and NTT have partnered with IWG to do just that, giving their people access to 3 500 locations worldwide.
Supporting success
Finally, it’s important to remember that while Lean In and McKinsey’s report shows women are leaving senior leadership roles, it only sometimes follows that they leave the workplace altogether.
Rather, the study highlights the genuine danger that, more readily than ever, women will vote with their feet when unhappy. This is another double whammy for firms that are reluctant to embrace the hybrid model or create cultures that meet women’s needs: not only will they lose top talent – it may well go to their competitors.
In 2022, companies simply cannot afford to be without diverse, inclusive leadership. Inequality of opportunity reduces productivity, stifles creativity and damages innovation.
Right now, women are as ambitious as ever – but their drive extends to rejecting working cultures that don’t serve them. My experience as a mentee and a leader shows that when employers support women’s success, everyone wins.
Fatima Koning is group chief commercial officer at IWG.
