Making the Workplace Work for Women

To attract and keep female talent, employers must create an open and inclusive culture where women can thrive and reach their potential. 82 percent of women say they are confident about their ability to fulfil their aspirations, 77 percent feel assurance in their ability to lead and 73 percent are actively seeking career advancement according to a recent PwC report released this month on International Women’s Day: Time to talk: What has to change for women at work, PwC’s global survey of women in the workplace.

Yet, many of the women who were surveyed say they don’t trust the workplace to support them: more than half (58 percent) want to see greater transparency about practical issues like performance, career development and promotion, and two-way dialogue about what’s needed to close the disconnect between ambition and achievement.

And, while almost all women said it was important to them to work in a job they enjoy and have the flexibility to balance the demands of their career and personal/family life , many are concerned over what they see as the motherhood and flexibility penalty that may occur if they seek time off to start a family or take advantage of the flexible workplace programs that are offered.

I reached out to Carrie Duarte, PwC’s Workforce of the Future Leader, about her perspective on how these findings line up with the challenges that today’s workforce is facing. Here are some highlights that I hope will spark a larger conversation.

Carrie, I’m interested in the issue of trust. Are you seeing that reflected in your work engaging with clients in the topic of the workforce of the future?

Carrie: We are. We know we can’t get to the workforce of the future without innovation, and the road to innovation includes robust diversity of perspective. So, women in the workplace are critical to an organization’s success. What we’ve found is that to drive change that’s inclusive and that people trust, this change must be tied to the organization’s purpose and culture. Formal programs like workplace flexibility are important, but you won’t create sustainable change if you don’t base those programs in purpose and culture. This means engaging your people where they are now and where they want to evolve to – so you’re making change with the workforce and not to the workforce. We’re also telling our clients to recognize the collective impact that informal actions can have. These small day-to-day activities seed trust because employees recognize that they’re built on sincerity of relationships and of actions. 

I agree with Carrie: We’re doing a lot here at PwC to support, champion and mentor women, and I think we’re seeing success in our efforts because they’re underpinned by a deep organizational culture of respect and trust, and because many focus on those one-on-one relationships. I’m thinking of our Women’s Inclusion Networks, which provide a forum to discuss career advancement, and other programs where women are supporting women like Women in Technology, designed to accelerate inclusiveness and support our culture of innovation. I think it’s also critically important for our male professionals to be engaged in championing women, just as PwC is doing through HeForShe, our global effort to engage men and boys in removing the social and cultural barriers that prevent women and girls from achieving their potential. The women who were surveyed said they are more proactive in pursuing their goals, negotiating for raises, promotions and the career-enhancing experiences so critical for advancement. And they’re being successful. We need to engage men as part of the solution to continue this progress, particularly when it comes to providing women with the strategic support and advocacy needed for career success and progression.

What’s next? How are you advising clients on other issues on the horizon that will have an impact on women in leadership?

 Carrie: Anecdotally, we see that women who lead teams build more diverse teams. In the future, as women become more successful and are given more opportunities to lead, we expect to see a cascading effect in terms of increased diversity that will benefit organizations. We’re doing more research on this to measure the impact. Having data on these sorts of practices is important because we know that to get to the diverse and inclusive workplaces we’re going to need, we also need to know which programs are working and which aren’t across the spectrum of an individual’s experience at a workplace. It’s important to measure, for example, why and when diverse employees are leaving an organization, and where and why you are seeing clusters of diverse talent as leaders, so that you can implement tactics to build on success.

The need for transparency and trust are among the key findings in our survey, so fitting that you bring us back to that. Any final thoughts?

Carrie: Women say they are not getting what they need. This message is too important to ignore if women are to achieve personal and career fulfillment and organizations are to succeed. So, women do need to raise their voices. And we need to talk about not just what we need, but the positive opportunities and changes we are experiencing. When I first started on a flexible work schedule I did it on the down-low until I recognized it was my responsibility to be a role model and to help move the needle. We need to shout our success from the rooftop and celebrate the support and respect we’re receiving from colleagues. These are the little actions that cumulatively can change a culture.