Superhero posing, leaning in and speaking up –- just three pieces of advice given to women in the workforce looking to get ahead. But what if we don’t want to pose, lean or shout? What if we want our work to speak for itself and for our careers to progress at the same rate as those of our male colleagues?
This is when the waters get a little muddy: for every stride forward towards equality and the destruction of the glass ceiling, comes this sticking point: by the very nature of work women are playing catch up – and we’ve had enough.
The latest Women in the Workplace report from McKinsey shows that when it comes to promotions and progression, women lose out compared to their male counterparts. The gap widens the more you go up the career ladder too. Women hold 48% of entry positions – yet only 26% of C-suite positions.
The broken rung
Why does this happen? Because of the broken rung. It’s not a lack of ambition or talent that prevents women from progressing. For every 100 men who get that first promotion from staff to manager, only 87 women achieve the same thing, and only 82 women of colour. If we can’t get past the broken rung, then it stands to reason that the funnel of women applying for senior positions narrows.
Add to this barrier the fact that women are often then expected to walk the corporate tightrope of managing their behaviours. They should be confident but not cocky, sure but not arrogant, and decisive but not bitchy.
Is it any wonder that women make up the lion’s share of The Great Resignation figures? But instead of jumping ship to take advantage of a salary bump or better working conditions, women are instead walking away from the workforce.
The Great Breakup
In fact, the report showed that 29% of women are looking to change their relationship with work entirely, by embracing less hours, lower-stress jobs and opportunities away from the traditional rat race. This re-evaluation of lifestyle is causing worry for HR managers who are referring to the lack of women in the talent pool as The Great Breakup.
What’s the solution? Well, for some companies, the development of specific female empowerment programmes has halted The Great Breakup. And these companies are hiring.
The Alt A Review Job Board features many companies known for being female-friendly which are currently recruiting for a number of positions across industries. We’ve selected three below to explore, but make sure to discover all opportunities to ensure you strive for progression in a company that is not only aware of the difficulties – but strives to remove them.
Spotify
Within the last year Spotify’s female leadership population increased from 25% to 42%–showing the company’s commitment to female empowerment and equality hiring. This is in addition to a continued range of partnerships with minority organisations to ensure female voices are heard across its range of podcasts and soon-to-be-offered videos. And this amplification of female voices doesn’t just apply to the product. It is also committed to raising the voices of staff members across all genders and ethnicities. The company is currently hiring for a number of roles across its UK base, including Data Scientist, Engineering Manager and HR Specialist. Explore all available roles at Spotify.
ITV
Recognised as one of the best 50 employers for women by experts at Business in the Community, part of the Prince’s Responsible Business Network, ITV has consistently pushed an agenda of inclusive and diverse hiring and promotion over the past number of years. In fact, the broadcaster went so far as to establish The Women’s Network, which is run by female champions across all areas of the organisation. The Women’s Network delivers a number of quarterly events and provides networking opportunities for female employees throughout the year. ITV is currently hiring for a number of roles including Systems Engineer, and UX designer. Explore all available roles at ITV.
Bauer Media
The Bauer Academy has been committed to running a yearly Women in Programming courses, and last year split the curriculum into two strands – Women in Programming, which provides training, mentoring and coaching to female freelancers looking to join Bauer Media, and Finding Future Talent, which looks to find the best young female talent keen to get a start in radio. Bauer Media is currently hiring for a number of roles across its UK base. Explore all available roles with Bauer.
By Aisling O’Toole
