Continuing to Push the Boundaries As We #EmbraceEquity this International Women’s Day

For starters, why are 43 percent of the women leaders suffering burnout compared to 31 percent of men, according to Lean In’s  Women in the Workplace 2022 study? Perhaps, as the same study shows, it’s because women on all rungs of the business ladder are responsible for most, if not all, of the homemaking and caregiving responsibilities. Twice as many women entry-level workers were responsible for all of the homemaking duties. In leadership roles, that gap nearly doubled. In addition, the National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality report showed one in six women provide unpaid eldercare. Meanwhile, the paid child and eldercare workforce has been low-paying for decades. Women make up 95 percent of childcare workers and 90 percent of home health providers, with a disproportionate number being women of color. 

             On the flip side, Lean In found women’s relative representation in engineering and technical fields had dropped since 2018. This bodes poorly for gender equality front as these positions tend to be the nation’s high-growth and high-pay opportunities. One bright spot, however, exists in the manufacturing sector, according to the US Census Bureau. Women earned 16 percent more on average than the median income for employed women. The industry is attracting more women by nudging girls toward the STEM track, and changing perceptions of women in manufacturing.

             Organizations and industries that do not promote diversity, equity, and inclusion stand to lose their greatest asset … their women leaders. And who will follow? The young women who should have been the organizations’ next great leaders will instead take their mentors’ leads and go to an organization that shares their values or embark on their own business ventures with like-minded entrepreneurs. Equal opportunity isn’t enough. True inclusion and belonging require equitable action.

             "The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights,” Gloria Steinem once said.

             What efforts will you make? How will you tell your story? Partner with The Imagen Group to explore the possibilities.