Don't Lose Sight- Gender Diversity in the Workplace is Stagnant

This week was an amazing one for women. For the first time ever, over 100 women will be in the House of Representatives. Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland of New Mexico were elected the first Native American women in Congress. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota will be the first two Muslim women in the House. In Texas,19 Black Women became judges. All of these wins are inspirational examples to women everywhere, and girls can now see the future really IS female.

But make no mistake about it, we still have a long way to go. 

A blip in all of the feel-good news this week was the annual “Women in the Workplace” report by McKinsey and LeanIn.Org. Their data pool is impressive: They looked at 279 companies in the US, representing 13 million employees. This year, they surveyed 64,000 people and also ran qualitative interviews. This is the 4th year they have been running this study. The disappointing news: Gender diversity progress in the workplace has stagnated; there has been zero progress since 2015.

Their central thesis is that early inequality in hiring and promotions has a profound impact on women (especially women of color) for the rest of their careers. Consider these startling facts: 

• Women earn more bachelor’s degrees than men and have for decades, but they are less likely to be hired into entry-level jobs
• For every 100 men promoted to manager, only 79 women are (!!!)
• Men hold 62 percent of management positions, while women hold only 38 percent.
• Women are twice as likely as men to have been mistaken for someone in a more junior position (this is an example of micro-aggressions)
• Attrition is not the reason there are fewer women at the top: woman and men leave the workforce at the same rates (contrary to popular belief)
• One in five women say they are often the only woman or one of the single women in the room at work (The "Only" effect)

Bottom line: If companies continue to hire and promote women to management at current rates, the number of women in management will increase by just one percentage point over the next ten years. Companies need to fill the pipeline early, with equal entry-level hiring and early promotions for women. If they start this now, over the same period we will get much closer to equality in management: 48 percent of women versus 52 percent men. 

I was fortunate enough to attend a roundtable with one of its authors, partner at McKinsey Alexis Krivkovich, when I was part of a Women in Leadership group at AdRoll. While I was there, AdRoll was extremely transparent about the gender gap and was doing a lot to improve equality (including this group I was a part of). Alexis, who I believe has 3 children, talked about her "nonnegotiables" (working on Saturdays) and that companies can't just "phone in" solutions. Even at McKinsey, Alexis regaled us of a meeting where they were discussing this very topic, and only one man showed up to the conversation (out of several invited), but not in person. He literally phoned it in - and it looked horrible. 

So how can your company make changes? McKinsey & LeanIn offer up 6 tangible steps: 

• Start somewhere - look at the metrics, even if they are bad (which they probably will be) - share them with your company and set realistic goals.
• Make sure you are hiring and promoting at an equal rate. 
• Get execs involved by making senior leaders and managers champions of diversity. (and let them know they can't just phone it in).
• Create an inclusive and respectful culture.
• Minimize the "Only" experience (e.g., the Only woman in the room).
• Offer a flexible environment for employees to be able to manage work and home (not just for women - for men too).

I'd love to hear if your company has been on this journey, and what has worked / what hasn't.