Women face more barriers to advancement in corporate America: Study

Women face more barriers to advancement in corporate America than men, a study, Women in the Workplace reveals. Since most of the senior-level positions are held by men, women are at a disadvantage when it comes to getting sponsorship among bosses.

Black, Hispanic, and Asian women were 43 per cent more interested in becoming top executives than white women and 16 per cent more interested than white men.

They were being consulted less on important decisions and were three times more likely than men to say they missed out on an assignment, promotion or raise based on their gender.

For instance, 74 per cent of firms reported that gender diversity was a top CEO priority, but less than half of employees believed that gender diversity was a top priority for their CEO, and only a third viewed it as a top priority for their direct manager.

Women of all ages without children cited stress and pressure at the top of their concerns, and parents of both genders were more likely to say they wanted to become a top executive.

According to the data women faced a double-bind situation in the choice between line roles, which contributed directly to a company's bottom line and core functions, and staff-support roles in areas like human resources and legal departments.

Further though companies were providing flexible work schedules to allow for greater work / life family balance, over 90 per cent of men and women believed taking extended leave would hurt their position at work.

A common assumption was that there were fewer women in power as women were more likely than men to quit when work-life balance was required to be maintained.

The report also called for tracking key metrics that demonstrated outcomes like attrition, compensation and employee satisfaction.