In anticipation of the 2021 Women in the Workplace report, which was published in September, I was prepared for more bad news. Specifically I was preparing myself for a dramatic reduction in the representation of women in the corporate pipeline. After all, millions of women have left the workforce since the start of the pandemic. However, this year I was also surprised—more positively—to find that representation of women was still able to improve despite the challenges the pandemic has brought.
Return to Work: A Conversation with Katy Tombaugh of Wellness Collective
Like a lot of you, we’ve been talking about the so-called “return to work” for a while—thinking about how to maintain equitable practices in remote work, and how to support women and caregivers in the return to work. We’ve been chatting with our clients and those in our networks about their unique approaches, and the keys to ensuring equity along the way. I recently had a conversation with a connection we’ve had since the early days of Gild Collective—Katy Tombaugh of Wellness Collective.
Women in the Workplace 2020: Spotlight on COVID-19
In years past, when the Women in the Workplace study by LeanIn and McKinsey and Company was released, I had been excited. Excited to see progress being made (even slowly) and new insights uncovered on how women can be better supported by their organizations.
The 2020 Women in the Workplace report was released last week, and like many other 2020 headlines, it did not bring with it this sense of excitement or hope. Despite my awareness that women are being disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, I did not anticipate some of these jarring data points.
#EachforEqual - International Women’s Day 2020
International Women’s Day is just a few weeks away! March 8, 2020 marks a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women - while also marking a call to action for accelerating gender equality.
This year’s theme—Each for Equal—is a call of collective individualism. It relies on everyone taking individual action to create a more gender equal world.
What I'm Reading: Women in the Workplace 2019
Each year, we eagerly anticipate the release of the annual Women in the Workplace study conducted by LeanIn.org and McKinsey and Company. This year, the report’s fifth year, was no different. There are often new themes and new lenses on the topics of representation, bias, and how to mitigate unequal treatment in the workplace. Our big takeaway this year is a concept coined The Broken Rung.
Lack of Visibility of Women in Leadership: Why Does it Matter?
We know that women are underrepresented in leadership across the board in this country. In the 2018 Women in the Workplace study our suspicions were confirmed when we learned that across industries progress toward gender equity in leadership has stalled nationwide. The chart below shows that women make up only 22% of the “C-Suite” level positions in this country, with women of color drastically less represented than that at only 4%.
From Bar Exam to Partner: A Closer Look at Women in Law
According to the NAWL 2017 Annual Report Survey, “for over a decade, approximately 50 percent of law students nationwide have been women, law firms have recruited women entry-level associates in proportion to their representation among law school graduates.” However, as in many male-dominated industries, we do not see the same proportion of women represented as equity partners in those same law firms.
What I’m Watching: Ocean’s 8
Three Ways to Continue the Conversation on Gender Equality
Calendars have flipped to April, which means that in addition to longer days and rising temps, we’re closing the chapter on Women’s History Month. However, we’re here to remind you that gender equality is not about a single day, or a single month—this year’s theme for International Women’s Day makes it clear that the Press for Progress is an ongoing call to drive change in ourselves, in our workplaces, and in our communities. The “hype” may have passed, but the need has not.