Top Findings from Women in the Workplace 2022: The “Great Breakup,” the unexpected benefit of flexibility & how companies can retain women leaders

Today, Lean In and 麦肯锡 released the eighth edition of Women in the Workplace—the largest study on the state of women in corporate America. This year over 300 companies employing 12 million people and more than 40,000 employees participated.

The Covid-19 crisis and the racial reckoning of 2020 pushed corporate America to reimagine work. Now, employees don’t want to return to the workplace of the past. They want to move forward—and this is especially true for women. In particular, we see two trends that are important to understand:

TREND 1: Corporate America is in the midst of a “Great Breakup.”?Women leaders are demanding more from their companies, and they’re switching jobs at the highest rate we’ve ever seen to get it—and at a much higher rate than men in leadership. And to be clear, they’re not breaking up with work; they’re breaking up with companies that aren’t delivering the opportunity and work culture they want. To put the scale of the problem in perspective, for every woman at the director level who gets promoted, two women directors are choosing to leave their company.?

Why it matters: Women are already dramatically underrepresented in leadership. For the eighth year in a row, fewer women are rising through the ranks because of a “broken rung” at the first step up to manager. Now, companies are struggling to hold onto the relatively few women leaders they have. This could unwind years of progress on gender equity, and companies can’t afford to lose women in leadership. Compared to men at the same level, women leaders are stepping up as better people managers and stronger champions of diversity, equity and inclusion—they’re the very leaders transforming work.

What companies can do: Companies should focus on their “broken rung.” For a majority of organizations, this will be at the first step up to manager, but it could be at higher levels, too. This means making sure women and men are put up for promotions at similar rates, monitoring outcomes to make sure they’re equitable, and rooting out biased aspects of the process. It’s also important that managers—who are on the front lines of women’s day-to-day experiences—are trained to support employee well-being and foster inclusion on their teams. And managers should be recognized and rewarded when they do: while virtually all companies build business goals into managers’ performance reviews, right now very few do the same for metrics related to people management and DEI.

TREND 2: Only 1 in 10 women want to work mostly onsite. Many women point to remote and hybrid work options as one of their top reasons for joining or staying with an organization, and it’s not just about the obvious benefits of flexibility: women who work remotely experience fewer microaggressions. For example, women of color and women with disabilities who remotely are far less likely to be criticized for their demeanor or appearance in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable. As one Black woman told us, “Some microaggressions just 100% don’t happen when I’m remote.”?

Food for thought: Enthusiasm for flexible work in all its forms is higher than ever, and it’s delivering tangible benefits to women. That said, companies need to be thoughtful about the transition to remote and hybrid work, so employees who take advantage of these options are not unfairly disadvantaged. And while it’s positive that women who work remotely experience fewer microaggressions, it’s also problematic. The culture of work needs to change so women feel valued and included, regardless of where they work.

What companies can do: Companies should take steps to level the playing field for remote and hybrid employees, who are more likely to be women. This requires making sure all employees are evaluated based on measurable results, not where and when they work, and training managers to watch for flexibility stigma—the unfair assumption that employees who work flexible hours or from home are less committed and productive. In addition, companies need to train employees—and especially managers—to challenge the biases women face and practice allyship. These trainings need to be high quality (research shows that low-quality programs can be more harmful than doing nothing at all), and companies should track participation (if the right people aren’t in the room, they won’t deliver the intended results). Lean In’s 50 Ways to Fight Bias and Allyship at Work programs can help, and they’re available at no cost because every company should have the tools to build an equitable workplace.

For the complete #WomenInTheWorkplace2022 report, which is packed with more findings and data-driven best practices, visit: leanin.org/wiw22