Four myths about the state of women at work

First, a note: Lean In is not my favorite source for inclusive gender analysis. They’ve definitely evolved since their first iteration, but have a ways to go in removing the binary from gender research.

McKinsey& Company and Lean In released its Women in the Workplace 2023 report this week and it’s worth a read.

The report debunks four myths about working women:

1. The glass ceiling is holding us back

2. We are becoming less ambitious

3. Micro-aggressions aren’t a big deal long-term

4. Flexible work is mostly beneficial to us

Here’s the reality:

1. Women lose the most ground at the first step up to manager–the “broken rung”

2. Women are more ambitious than before the pandemic–and flexibility is fueling that ambition

3. Micro-aggressions have a large and lasting impact on women

4. Both men and women see flexibility as a “top 3” employee benefit and critical to their company’s success

The report dives into each myth and gives you the data behind what’s happening.

Here are my takeaways:

The Broken Rung

💡 TLDR: we need more equitable performance management solutions.

• Women are not responsible for not being promoted–we ask for promotions as often as men do, and we are no more likely to leave our companies, therefore giving up opportunities for promotion.

• Bias is a strong driver of the broken rung, especially performance bias.

• Until the broken rung is fixed, gender parity in senior leadership remains out of reach.

Ambition

💡 TLDR: we need to acknowledge that women’s personal lives are not a reason to avoid giving them an assignment or ambitious role.

• Women are equally as ambitious as men. And women of color are even more ambitious than white women.

• One in 5 women say flexibility has helped them stay at their organization or avoid reducing their hours.

• Women who work hybrid or remotely are no more likely than women working on-site to consider reducing their hours or switching to a less demanding job.

Micro-aggressions

💡 TLDR: we need a better way to define, identify, and surface micro-aggressions with our teams.

• Women who experience micro-aggressions are much less likely to feel psychologically safe, which makes it harder to take risks, propose new ideas, or raise concerns.

• 78% of women self-shield at work or restrict their authentic selves to protect themselves from mistreatment.

Flexible work

💡 TLDR: we need to provide options for flexible working in order to prioritize inclusion and psychological safety.

• 29% of women and 25% of men say one of the biggest benefits of working remotely is having fewer unpleasant interactions with coworkers.

• There’s reduced stress to manage your style and appearance.

• Psychological safety goes up for women working remotely

As a manager, control what you can control

If you find yourself in a workplace that has on-site work requirements, unchecked bias and micro-aggressions, and outdated performance review processes–don’t fret. You can still make an impact.

Start here:

• Understand that YOU are a key driver of organizational change. You are the most influential person in your direct report’s working life. You have a responsibility to get educated and act accordingly.

• Take a course on micro-aggressions and bring it to your team as a topic of conversation. Create a process for reporting micro-aggressions or being able to surface them as they happen.

• Provide your team with flexible working options. Regardless of gender, flexibility helps fuel ambition and achievement, not the opposite. Understanding that on-site work benefits men the most is your first step toward creating more inclusive options for your team.

• Educate yourself on performance bias. Use a bias scanner (we have a free one) to understand how your content is biased, and work to adjust it.