“Broken Ladder”: gender obstacles in the early stages of a career

How do the problems of career growth and professional fulfillment look like in our imagination for women? It is customary to talk about the problem of the “glass ceiling”, a metaphor for an invisible barrier in the promotion of women to high positions, the lack of women in leadership, unequal pay between the sexes, the balance of career and family.

However, a recent five-year study by McKinsey and LeanIn of 22 million people and 590 companies uncovered a new root of the gender imbalance problem. The bottom line is that long before they get to the top echelons of leadership, women face problems at the very beginning of the career ladder. It all starts much earlier than you might think, namely from the first level of leaders, where the path is often “ordered” for women.

In practice, it looks like this – a woman is offered a job in a call center instead of working with key customers, the position of an accountant instead of the job of a financial manager, the fate of an ordinary designer instead of an art director. At the same time, all entry-level workers are roughly equal: they don’t have long lists of achievements, they have the same work experience, and they are all good enough to be equally considered for promotion.

However, for every 100 men who get their first promotion, there are only 72 women, and this imbalance has only increased over the years. Are men more talented, hardworking and ambitious than women, or is something unfair happening?

Are women to blame?

You often hear that the point is the lack of ambition in women. However, in fact, 71% of women want a career advancement, 29% say so, and 21% ask for a pay rise. You will be surprised, but these figures almost completely coincide with the percentage of men. However, as before, 45% of HR specialists and 21% of men surveyed believe that the problem is the lack of sufficient qualifications among women.

These attitudes lead to the fact that “popular” work with large teams and budgets is more likely to be given to a man than a woman, without regard to her competence. But it is this work, in turn, that is more likely to be noticed by top managers and becomes a springboard for performing more significant tasks.

As you can see, there is no good reason why women and men are promoted at a ratio of almost 1:2, but there is one explanation – bias and, as a result, a “broken ladder”. Since that initial broken rung of the career ladder, women can’t climb fast enough to catch up.

3 reasons that women themselves highlight

Let’s give the floor to women who see other reasons for the “broken” situation, namely:

1. Women are judged at work by different standards. What are these “other standards”? Sociological studies have revealed our general tendency to overestimate the activities of men, and underestimate the achievements of women. As a result of this, women need to show achieved results in order to be promoted, while men can be evaluated for potential, that is, in fact, for future achievements. This is what often gives rise to an unconscious bias regarding the abilities of women at work, both among women themselves and among those who make decisions.
2. Women do not have “sponsors” in the company who would support them with their recommendation. Who are sponsors and why are they so important? The difference between sponsors and mentors is that sponsors are senior executives in the same company who actively suggest a person for promotion, furthering their career. Unlike mentors, who mostly offer informal help, sponsors represent their protégés when big projects or career opportunities come up.
3. Women are less likely to take a managerial position. Women actually have less credit in the organization to lead people. The situation may differ in the areas of retail, banking, technology, distribution, health systems, manufacturing, engineering, but the trend continues: the percentage of women at the level of managers is definitely lower than men.

But not everything is unambiguously bad. Some companies provide executive-level training for promising young leaders. It can be personal plans, coaching programs to develop managerial skills and at the same time explore different career paths.

However, much more needs to be done to improve the situation. This can be the introduction of relevant policies, and the requirement of an equal ratio of women and men for career promotions, and the conduct of appropriate impartiality training for those who select candidates for the role of managers, and transparent criteria for promotion, and, of course, the conduct of special leadership programs for women. and men to give equal opportunity to be considered for leadership positions.

If companies continue to achieve a tiny increase in the number of women they promote and hire into leadership positions each year, McKinsey estimates, it will be another thirty years before the gap between male and female first-level managers narrows.

The conclusion is that women in the Broken Ladder still have to build their own careers and support other women. And what if, instead of hoping for changes in companies, we promote the advancement of women in the workplace ourselves? Just think, what can we do if we do not wait, but work using a new strategy?

3 ways to break the “glass ceiling”

1. An honest look at the situation and the creation of conditions. Try, other things being equal, to choose women and actively participate in the selection process. Studies show that adding women to a group increases the likelihood of a female candidate being selected. Help create an environment where the organization encourages a culture of diversity and rewards for performance rather than a race to prove one’s worth. If you are a leader, try to increase the number of women for future promotion without stereotypes.
2. Role models for women. Before the eyes of young women, there are not enough role models of successful women to equal. If you are a woman, be that model for the young, share your success and failure stories, bring your perspective, become a leadership mentor, and advance the careers of your protégés.
3. Competition with yourself. This principle is universal, but especially relevant for women. Don’t think that you are competing with your male colleagues. Just compete with your past self, celebrating your progress and success. To do this, be more visible by speaking openly about your merits and abilities, let this be a challenge that will be rewarded.

If you follow these principles, everyone will benefit: personally, you will get a sense of impartiality, professional fulfillment, honesty. Business will benefit as employees see fair treatment and their loyalty will grow, and employee satisfaction leads to improved morale and business results.

Knowing what the problem is, it is already impossible to forget. We think that each of us can be guided by the imperative of equality of opportunity and fix the “broken” ladder.