Women Breaking the Glass Ceiling - Perspectives Across Professions
Join us for an insightful discussion on “Women Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Perspectives Across Professions” led by CEO Wendy Gerber on Monday, March 22 at 8PM ET. Please click the Zoom link below to join the discusion:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84400717613?pwd=dExPbHpvU3dtM0I3ZjRzODVxbkhYdz09
Passcode: 356524
This will be a unique opportunity to hear from six Princeton alumnae from different professions—foundation/government leader, pianist, architect, marketing/branding advisor, business transformation/HR expert and producer/talent agent who will share their stories and perspectives on topics such as gender bias, glass ceilings, mentorship and leaning in.
Gender inequality is not only a pressing moral and social issue but also a critical global economic challenge. If women—who account for half the world’s working-age population—do not achieve their full economic potential, the global economy will suffer. Everyone has been economically impacted by the pandemic, but evidence suggests that women took the biggest hit. A disproportionate number of layoffs pushed the women’s labor force to the lowest point since 1988. Already at an economic disadvantage, women were earning only 84.6 cents compared to each dollar made by their male counterparts. And economists predict an increasing wage gap of as much as 5%.
The progress toward gender parity has been slow and the pandemic has created an economic, as well as a social and health, challenge. At the beginning of 2020, the representation of women in corporate America was trending in the right direction. From January 2015 to January 2020, representation of women in senior management positions grew from 23 to 28 percent, and representation in the C-suite grew from 17 to 21 percent. Women still remained dramatically underrepresented—particularly women of color—but the numbers were slowly improving. The “broken rung” continued to hold women back with women losing ground at the first step up to manager. For every 100 men promoted to manager, only 85 women were promoted—and this gap was even larger for some women: only 58 Black women and 71 Latinas were promoted. And the ongoing fight for gender parity continued with stereotypes continuing to create significant barriers. In work environments defined by traditional gender-role standards, 40 years of research shows that assertive women are often penalized for aspiring to leadership roles and subjected to greater scrutiny.
In addition, the pandemic has impacted women in the workforce dramatically. Women are far more susceptible to burnout because, in addition to their paid employment, they absorb 75% of the world’s “invisible work” involving cooking, cleaning, home schooling, caring for children and aging parents, and other family duties. Over the past year, women’s participation in the labor market has dropped to a 33-year low. Even more concerning, as a result of this situation, more than one in four women are contemplating what many would have thought unthinkable: downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce completely. This presents an emergency for corporate America. Companies risk losing women in leadership and unravelling years of painstaking progress toward gender diversity.
Studies have shown that supporting women in the workplace can result in exponential growth to companies’ bottom lines and speed our economic recovery:
• McKinsey estimates that increased gender equality could result in $13 trillion of incremental GDP by 2030, compared to maintaining the status quo which will yield only an 11% increase.
• An S&P Global study showed that significant financial gains are made by having women in the C-Suite. Firms with female CEOs produced a 20% increase in stock price performance within two years. Increased female labor force participation could accelerate U.S. GDP growth, adding a staggering $5.87 trillion to the global stock market in 10 years.
This crisis also represents an opportunity. If companies make significant investments in building a more diverse, inclusive and flexible workplace—they can retain the employees most affected by today’s crises and nurture a culture in which women have an equal opportunity to achieve their potential. An increased focus on ESG (environmental, social and governance) strategy and execution by investors, consumers, and the SEC, which should include diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and practices, should incentivize corporate leaders to recognize the strengths women bring to the table—and that a more inclusive workplace is not only necessary, but also profitable.