() – When it comes to promoting women in corporate America, there has been progress since 2015, according to the 10th annual analysis by women-in-the-workplace advocacy group LeanIn.org and consulting firm McKinsey & Company.
But their report, released Tuesday, notes that women still face many obstacles to advancement. The authors therefore estimate that true parity with men in the workplace is still many years away. They define parity as women occupying senior positions — from vice president to CEO — in numbers that more closely approximate their proportion in the U.S. population.
The 2024 analysis was based on multiple sources of information, including interviews with HR managers and employees; materials on programs, benefits, and priorities from 281 companies employing 10 million people; and a nonscientific and nonstatistically representative survey of 15,000 employees from 27 companies. Companies participated in the study by responding to invitations from McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.Org or by indicating their interest through a public website.
The report found that women now hold 29% of C-suite positions, up from 17% in 2015, though the increases were primarily in “staff” roles that support non-revenue-generating parts of the organization (e.g., chief human resources officer) rather than “line” roles directly tied to profit and loss and core business operations (e.g., CEO). Women also made gains since 2018 at the VP and SVP levels, but again in staff roles.
More employers have also improved their hiring practices and performance reviews to make them fairer, according to the researchers. For example, 69% now offer bias training for evaluators, up from 53% in 2015.
Furthermore, given the huge role of direct managers in promoting women, the report notes that the vast majority of companies now offer more training to managers and highlight the importance of them focusing on employee wellbeing, encouraging greater inclusion in their teams and taking an interest in the professional advancement of their employees.
There is also a sense that the workplace is better for women than it was a decade ago. The majority of women who participated in the survey (60%) said they believe opportunities for growth and development for women have improved, and the majority (73%) said they see more emphasis on “building respectful and inclusive workplaces.”
Female employees now enjoy a more useful set of benefits that directly respond to their need for support in combining their domestic responsibilities with those of their work.
“Today, nearly all companies offer critical support to employees who are parents, caregivers or facing health challenges, and these benefits are linked to higher happiness rates and improved employee retention,” the report notes. “Plus, benefits like these are especially helpful for women, who are more likely to have caregiving responsibilities.”
For example, half of the companies surveyed provide emergency backup child care services, up from a third in 2016. Half of companies also offer support to employees caring for sick family members or elderly parents, the study found.
Despite many advances for women in the workplace over the past decade, the report found many areas where much more progress is needed if women are to have an equal playing field in leadership roles with men in the workplace.
For example, the rate of promotion in the early years of a career has not improved much. The report found that for every 100 men who were given their first chance at a managerial position, only 81 women were offered the same. In 2018, the figure was 79.
The situation is worse for Black women: for every 100 men who get their first chance at a managerial position, only 54 Black women and 65 Latina women get that chance. Although Black women’s promotion rate(s) improved in 2021 and 2022, “(they) have regressed to 2020 levels,” the report notes.
“As a result of this ‘broken rung,’ men significantly outnumber women at the management level, making it nearly impossible for companies to support sustained progress at higher levels,” the report notes.
The number of companies with programs that encourage the hiring of women has also declined. This is especially the case for black women. Only 18% of companies now offer hiring programs focused on them, and 8% offer internship programs, compared to 30% and 14% respectively in 2022.
Overall, corporate commitment to gender and racial diversity may be declining. For example, 78% of companies the report examined said gender diversity is a high priority, down from 87% in 2019. A comparable drop occurred among companies that place a high priority on racial diversity (69% now versus 77% in 2019).
Meanwhile, less than half of women surveyed said they are getting the support they need from their bosses, and Black women were more likely than white women to say they experienced a lack of support. “Given that employees with consistent support from their bosses are more likely to be promoted, this likely works against them,” the analysis says.
For these and other reasons detailed in the report and based on a decade of data on the talent trajectory, McKinsey and LeanIn.org conclude that the path to parity in leadership roles for women could still take decades: more than two for white women (22 years) and nearly five (48 years) for Black women.
Progress will be important for businesses, the authors note. “Research shows that companies with more women in leadership benefit from greater innovation, healthier cultures and stronger performance. And, in addition to offering valuable skills and perspectives, female leaders inspire the next generation of women to make their mark.”
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