Through this turbulent time, it is crucial not to lose sight of the societal impact women have made. With March being women’s history month, let’s remember the handwritten letters, speeches, and photographs created by American suffragists who persisted for more than 70 years to win voting rights for women, that are still impactful today. Although significant progress has been made, professional women are reminded of the fight for some degree of wage transparency, representation, and equality. Blind, an anonymous professional network with over 3.2M work-email verified professionals, asked professionals the following questions related to upper management issues:
Q4 2019 hedge fund letters, conferences and more
- Do you feel your gender is represented in your upper management?
- And do you foresee leadership opportunities for you within the company?
- Do you feel comfortable taking time off to support a better work-life balance?
- What's your gender?
Key Takeaways (4,686 responses):
- 24.25% of women feel represented by their upper management compared to 78.8% of men
- Only 38.58% of women foresee leadership opportunities within their company compared to 48.6% of men
- 76.5% of men in tech feel their gender is represented in their upper management, compared to 23.25% of women.
- Women in finance feel more represented by their upper management than women in tech
- Women in finance feel more comfortable taking time off to support a better work-life balance than women in tech
The Need For Diversity In Upper Management
With only a quarter of women feeling represented by their upper management, there is an emphasis on the need for diversity inclusion strategies that are evolving as women do. Tools like unconscious bias training, mentoring programs, coaching programs, should be instituted to help women and allies navigate their career progression seamlessly. This investment could be an impactful change agent regarding the representation of women in leadership positions.
This study intends to create an opportunity to better understand the root challenges for people in the workplace and how to evolve from there. This study can be used to motivate leadership to prioritize the advancement of women in the workplace. These advancements are not linear to women; true workplace equality also involves advancing men and creating environments where men can show up and create positive allyship.
While this month is a global celebration of the economic, political, and social achievements of women, it is essential to ask questions that help identify trends that continue to secure the social progress of human rights regardless of gender.
Encourage your female peers, coworkers, friends, and loved ones to be vocal about the challenges they experience as professionals. These narratives are compelling, and ultimately what engage and change the barriers we face.
