But the benefits of having more women in the workplace are not limited to just financial gains.<\/p>\n
Having more women in the workplace actually makes an organization a better place to work, for everyone<\/em>, <\/strong>our research found<\/a>.<\/p>\n In a large study, we asked hundreds of respondents to estimate what percentage of individuals in their workplace were women. Answers ranged from 0\u2013100%, with the average being about 45% (pretty close to the US national workplace average). We then asked them a number of questions about their workplace environments.<\/p>\n Results showed that having a higher percentage of women in the workplace predicted:<\/p>\n But that\u2019s not all \u2014 we found that having more women in the workplace was also positively related to employee engagement and retention.<\/strong> Specifically, when asked why they stay with their current employer, people from organizations with a high percentage of women were more likely to cite positive and meaningful organizational culture, including having:<\/p>\n These new findings persist, regardless of participants\u2019 age, industry, organization size, leadership level, ethnicity, and gender<\/em>.<\/p>\n In fact, our findings were even stronger for men on some measures. Specifically, men reported being more satisfied with their job, enjoying their work more, and not feeling as burned out if they worked for companies that employed higher percentages of women.<\/p>\n Given this, you might be considering what your organization can do to attract, retain, and promote more women leaders. Fortunately, our study also asked women respondents about what they want from work.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what we found women want from work.<\/p>\n The most common reason women gave for staying with their current employer was that their job fits well with other areas of their life, followed by enjoying the work that they do, and believing that their job gives them the opportunity to make a difference.<\/p>\n Moreover, many women talked about having personally meaningful work that connects to their values, purpose, and work-life balance. Together, these reasons describe a specific type of employment that social scientists refer to as \u201ca calling.\u201d Callings are jobs that people feel drawn to pursue, find intrinsically enjoyable and meaningful, and see as a central part of their identity. Research suggests<\/a> that experiencing work as a \u201ccalling\u201d is related to increased job satisfaction.<\/p>\n When women were asked to rate the importance of workplace perks and benefits, flexibility concerns rose to the top of the list. Paid time off was rated as the most important perk, followed by healthcare benefits, paid leadership development, flexible schedules, and opportunities to move up in the organization.<\/p>\n Compared to a control group of men, women also rated paid time off and working from home as higher priorities. Flexibility might be particularly critical when it comes to retaining talented women who also want to raise families \u2014 women with children rated having a flexible schedule and being able to work from home as more important compared to women who didn\u2019t have children.<\/p>\n Yet, research has found<\/a> that women are actually less<\/em> likely to get this much-needed flexibility than men are.\u00a0Stand out as a great organization for women by offering equitable flexibility.<\/p>\n In our sample, women were just as likely as men to be interested in raises, promotions, and leadership development opportunities. They were also just as likely to ask for and accept leadership opportunities.<\/p>\n But women in the workplace expressed different reasons for turning down leadership opportunities compared to men. Men typically turned down positions because they didn\u2019t want them (e.g., not interested in the role, didn\u2019t like the supervisor, didn\u2019t want to relocate, didn\u2019t want to work longer hours, or didn\u2019t get offered enough money). While some women shared these concerns, women also uniquely mentioned that they were not confident in their qualifications, weren\u2019t sure that others would support them, and were worried that they were being set up for failure.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, research suggests that these concerns among women are valid. Studies show that organizations expect women to be more qualified than men<\/a> for the same positions, and that leadership opportunities for men often come with more resources<\/a> (funding, supervisor support, team size) compared to women\u2019s leadership opportunities.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, women are more likely to get \u201cglass cliff\u201d positions<\/a> \u2014 leadership opportunities that are high stakes, precarious, and have a high likelihood of failure.<\/p>\n Given this, it\u2019s not surprising that many women said that the single most important thing organizations can do to attract and retain them<\/strong>\u00a0is to admonish sexism and offer gender parity in pay, experiences, and opportunities for success.<\/p>\n Based on these findings, here are a few specific suggestions that organizational leaders can do to ensure women (and all people) get what they want out of work:<\/p>\n These are just some of the many insights in our report on women leaders in the workplace, based on responses from almost 750 leaders. Download our full research paper<\/a> to dig deeper into our findings about what women in the workplace need, and to learn how your organization can attract, retain, and promote top talent of all genders.<\/p>\nThe Connection Between Women & Workplace Wellbeing<\/h2>\n
4 Benefits of More Women in the Workplace<\/h3>\n
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3 Things Women Want in the Workplace<\/h2>\n
1. Women Want a Calling, Not Just a 9-to-5.<\/h3>\n
2. Women Want Flexibility in Where, When & How They Work.<\/h3>\n
3. Women Want Real<\/em> Leadership Opportunities.<\/h3>\n
What Organizations & Leaders Can Do to Support Women in the Workplace<\/h2>\n
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Ready to Take the Next Step?<\/h2>\n