Myths that limit women's progress at the workplace
Report says many women choose not to speak up or share an opinion to avoid seeming difficult or aggressive to their colleagues.
What you need to know:
- A Mckinsey & Company report cites strong gender bias at the workplace.
- It says women are often hired and promoted based on past accomplishments, while men are hired and promoted based on future potential.
The biggest barrier to women’s career advancement is access to first-time promotion, rather than the commonly cited glass ceiling, a new Mckinsey & Company report finds.
The study, which was released last Thursday, has debunked common myths about women in the workplace, including the glass ceiling theory. The term, which was coined over 40 years ago, describes an invisible barrier preventing women from reaching senior leadership. However, the study instead states that most women lose ground when they are overlooked for first-time promotion.
Regina Nyambura Njoki, a working mother, says her career took a hit when she took time off to take care of her young children while her male colleagues got promoted when they became fathers.
“I am a victim of being penalised for being a mother. Most employers do not look kindly at career gaps in resumes even though I took that time to take care of my children. Most men are promoted because they can even take job assignments out of town because their wives are taking care of the children,” Ms Njoki says.
In the survey, Mckinsey and Company collected information from 276 participating organisations employing over 10 million people. They also found that for every 100 men promoted from entry level to manager, 87 women were promoted.
The study attributes the phenomenon to strong bias whereby women are often hired and promoted based on past accomplishments, while men are hired and promoted based on future potential.
Lenah Wangeci, a human resource specialist, concurs with the findings. “I noticed when we conducted panel interviews, men were more confident and could easily sell their skills to their roles whilst more qualified women were more reserved even though they were more capable than men. It reached a point where we had to develop a series of cognitive, role-based and personality tests for hiring and promotion so that we eliminate that bias.”
Ambitions
Another myth that the study debunked is that women are less ambitious than men in the workplace. In fact, workplace flexibility that became common during the Covid-19 crisis has encouraged more women who work remotely. One in five women reported that they felt less fatigued and burnt out as a primary benefit.
However, microaggressions that women experience in the workplace were found to have a bigger impact on their career progression than is morally perceived.
Ms Wangechi, who manages a team of employees, recalls an incident where a junior male employee referred to her as a ‘small girl in a big office’ when she tried to get objective feedback on an assigned task.
“I had to ask one of the company’s senior leaders who happens to be male to reassert my authority to the team to get the feedback I wanted. People find it hard to recognise me as an authority even though I have more technical expertise than them. Microaggressions are real in the workplace,” Ms Wangechi says.
Mckinsey and Company found that such microaggressions lead women to be burned out, consider leaving the company and feel they have no equal opportunity to advance.
“On top of this, 78 per cent of women who face microaggressions—so the vast majority—self-shield at work, or adjust the way they look or act in an effort to protect themselves. For example, many women choose not to speak up or share an opinion to avoid seeming difficult or aggressive to their colleagues…By leaving microaggressions unchecked, companies miss out on everything women have to offer and risk losing talented employees,” reads the report.
Although the study has found growth in women’s representation in the workplace, the highlighted barriers are slowing down the progress. One of the recommendations in the report is for companies to invest in women’s career advancement.
Ms Njoki, for instance, says she lacked funding to advance her education from diploma to degree. “It is not because I am less ambitious than my male colleagues but the resources and support are just not there. I have to settle for what is offered in my job group because I cannot meet the requirements for the next level.”
