According to an analysis conducted by the agency London School of Economics. And despite decades of efforts to close the gender pay and career gap, it has become slightly wider since the pandemic began.
Briefly
Women hold 19.4% of the top 1% of finance and professional services jobs, slightly below the three-year pre-Covid average of 19.7%.
However, while the share of women in the top 10% of jobs is still far from equal, it was higher at 28.3% and showed signs of progress, increasing by 2.5 percentage points over the period.
The LSE analysis, based on the UK’s main survey of economic activity, the Quarterly Labor Force Survey (QLFS), conducted from January 2017 to June 2023, also found some rebalancing in terms of working experience. Women currently make up 37% of senior managers and directors in professional services and finance, which is roughly the same as the percentage of women working full-time.
Why hasn’t gender equality improved further?
The persistent gender gap in seniority, which widens as one approaches the top of the career ladder, suggests corporate efforts to close it—at all times well documented benefits it provides access to talent and more diverse thinking, but it has proven insufficient.
The reasons for this are complex, including significant career penalties for mothers but not fathers, bias – explicit or unconscious – and wider social factors that disadvantage women’s careers, such as higher average burden of household chores, as well as child and elder care responsibilities.
These factors have proven to be persistent over the years, so in some ways it begs the question: why? would have they improved without major changes in attitudes or behavior?
Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic may have set gender equality back, with layoffs disproportionately affecting women, while businesses tend to withhold funding for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs when trading conditions are tough. In the US, the situation is exacerbated by a conservative backlash against affirmative action, often through legal means.
“We’re going backwards, but I’m not surprised. To make progress, there needs to be a greater shift towards recognizing that diversity is good for business. There also needs to be significant investment in upskilling managers to become inclusive leaders who recognize that leading diverse teams is a skill. Without it, I will be giving the same quote in 10 years,” said Dr. Grace Lordan, founding director of the Inclusion Initiative at the London School of Economics and associate professor of psychological and behavioral sciences.
Hybrid work might have been expected to favor working mothers, but there is evidence that people working remotely are suffering career disadvantages compared to those coming into the office, while orders to return to the office have begun to push moms out of business. work places.
What’s next?
The trend toward more equal gender representation in mid-level jobs and among the top 10% of earners is encouraging, especially in relatively male-dominated sectors such as finance and professional services.
It would be reasonable to expect this to have an impact on the most senior and well-paid positions over the next decade, simply because more women will have the experience needed to be considered.
However, the continuing trend is that women’s chances of advancing in their careers decrease with each level of seniority. Until these dynamics change, the gap will remain significant.