Women in the Workplace 2024
Yesterday, September 17, 2024, LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Company released the tenth edition of Women in the Workplace – the largest comprehensive study of its kind.
The report offers a 10-year look at the state of women in corporate America. It’s a story of unsustainable and fragile progress.
Women’s Representation:
Over the last decade, there have been important gains for women at every level of the corporate pipeline, particularly in senior leadership. However, the pipeline is not as healthy as the numbers suggest. At the beginning, too few women—and especially women of color—are advancing into management positions. Progress for women in senior leadership could best be described as unintended. And at the highest level—the C-suite—gains in representation will be nearly impossible to replicate in the years to come. At the current rate of progress, it will take almost 50 years to reach parity for all women in corporate America.
Company Actions:
Companies have taken significant steps to advance women and make the workplace more equitable. But commitment is waning at a moment when companies should be building on their positive momentum. On top of this, companies are investing fewer resources into dedicated programs to support women’s advancement.
Women’s experiences:
Women continue to worry it will be harder for them to advance and their day-to-day interactions look largely like they did in 2015. This stands out as the area of least progress across the ten years of this study. Women—and particularly women of color—are not getting enough support from their managers. They are still far more likely than men to face bias that calls their abilities and leadership potential into question. And women of color, LGBTQ+ women, and women with disabilities stand out for experiencing more demeaning interactions at work. Moreover, sexual harassment is as prevalent in today’s workplace as it was five years ago. Despite all this, women remain highly ambitious—and as ambitious as men.
This year’s Women in the Workplace report, released Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, provides a 10-year analysis of women’s advancement across the pipeline, showcasing progress and ongoing challenges.