McKinsey & Company published their 2022 Women in the Workplace report and found what I know to be true as a result of my 500+ coaching sessions during the pandemic. The report so eloquently states: “Women are demanding more from work, and they’re leaving their companies in unprecedented numbers to get it.” I completely understand.
Women work hard. They have ambition. Reports indicate they are inclusive, empathetic leaders. They consistently do more are, are less celebrated and underappreciated.
This “trend” is happening at the highest rates McKinsey & Company has ever seen but these stats aren’t surprising. The truth of the matter is that we are experiencing a compound effect. Women have been passed over for promotions, discriminated against and underpaid to say the least for a number of years. Then there’s the COVID-19 crisis plus the racial reckoning of 2020 which has resulted in the workplace we are currently experiencing: one with women leaving and companies feeling a sense of urgency to create a better business model for developing, promoting and retaining women.
According to McKinsey & Company, here’s what organizations can do to win with women and simultaneously help women in the process:
- Create a path and plan to get more women into leadership.
- Retain the women leaders they have.
- Identify the largest gaps for promotion in their pipeline.
- Ensure women and men are put up for promotions at the same rates.
- Monitor outcomes to ensure they’re equitable.
- Eliminate bias in the evaluation process.
- Offer specific, actionable trainings so managers are equipped to support their teams.
- Offer benefits to improve women’s day-to-day work experiences.
- Create a formal sponsorship program focused on women.
- Create a formal sponsorship program focused on women of color.