A Surviving Facts Blog
Another article caught my attention early this morning- from Harvard Business Review, one of the publications I greatly respect. The article, to sum it up, says that younger women- roughly those in their 30s- have the same work life experiences of bias and disempowerment that women in their 50s and older have had. How awful is that?
As I wrote about recently, women’s progress has stalled and in some cases regressed. Women have progressed a little in leadership roles. But in pay equity, occupational inclusion, workforce participation, and support for working moms we’ve pretty much stalled or for the first time in decades seen gaps widen rather than shrink.
This comes from the 2024 Women in the Workplace report, which LeanIn.org and McKinsey & Company have published for the past 10 years. In this 10th anniversary study, the coauthors emphasize its breadth and comprehensiveness. “It draws on data from more than 1,000 companies and over 480,000 employees in professional jobs from the entry level to the C-suite,” they point out.
They also highlight a long-held falsehood: be patient, women are making progress, it will happen organically over time. Yeah, that’s a Big Lie.
The reality? Women will not reach workforce equity and parity without definite and documented steps to create accountability and to record progress. An equal rights amendment, discussed passionately decades ago, is needed now more than ever. The EEOC doesn’t have the bandwidth to address the number of complaints. Women’s equality has to become the rule of the land.
The organic progress assumption actually is pablum for companies. They can say, “we are working on it” and purport that “working on it,” “believing in it,” “supporting DEI” are enough. This self-assurance is a common refrain from many organizations. Those same organizations build charts to illustrate their own slow progress and as long as these “report cards” inch up sometimes, they can congratulate themselves. But it hides what younger women like their older colleagues see clearly: there’s more talk than action. Companies are not doing enough to achieve gender parity.
Why do women need special accommodations? Almost every working mother refers to their “second job.” That second job is child and home care without adequate support from partners, few job accommodations and little legal support. Women cannot work two jobs, manage the severe pressure of the daily juggle and meet basic self-care needs. We’ve never expected men to do so. Indeed, men have had their “helpmate” forced, pressured or brainwashed into supporting their success. It’s the double standard.
I can hear how some men will respond. “If a woman wants to be in the workplace, then she has to do what men do.” Women are doing what men do, then more and more and more. If women were like men, they’d actually have support. Like men, they would have fewer employment challenges, earn more, and do less (for the most part) at home. So who has to change behavior? It’s not women.
In my research, I have been shocked to see how many women are still fired for being pregnant. That’s never the reason companies give, of course. Usually, companies claim “performance problems,” which suddenly appear, coincidentally, when employers learn of the pregnancy. In one of the greatest ironies, a leading law firm representing employers in discrimination cases have themselves been sued multiple times for firing pregnant, often partner-track, employees. The firm has been mired in lawsuits for years.
With such clear data on stagnation, we should wake up, talk straight and get down to solutions. But in our dangerously political times, too many men and women will reject the premise. But the numbers show: the conservative retrenchment since the 1980s and accelerated in the past 15 years in particular, has hurt women. It has created an environment in which women suffer the illegalities, prejudices and lack of support that women did forty years ago. Young women today are living in a wayback reality.
And that’s appalling.
It’s almost 2025. It’s good for an entire society when a level playing field provides opportunities for all. Our predominantly white, patriarchal system has created an uneven field where men run on flat ground while women and minorities try to stay balanced on uneven terrain. This same system perpetuates the belief in white, male superiority. Men are just better at it all. Actually, white men (and it is white men) are privileged. They have unfair advantages. They start ten steps ahead. And as equal rights has tried to advance, they complain vigorously when they don’t get what they want.
Do I sound frustrated? Yeah, I am. My daughters are entering a system that’s on par with and potentially worse than the one I entered. The slow progress even I thought we’d make over time will inhibit their growth and opportunities. The unspoken biases will whittle away their self-esteem. The gap between reality and perception will strip any self-confidence they have. What would happen if we just accepted patriarchal privilege exists rather than pretending it doesn’t? In the US today, can we have this real conversation? I’m waiting on tomorrow’s election results to see.
Walk the Moon 