Women Have Made Progress in Corporate America, But Not Enough
Women are continuing to make real advancements in the workplace. Exhibit A: between 2011 and 2021, the number of U.S. women working in STEM rose 31 percent. Yet, despite this progress, working women are still encountering real barriers in their career paths — barriers preventing them from advancing both financially and professionally.
Consider the first statistic mentioned above. Yes, over a 10-year stretch, women in the U.S. have made tremendous headway in the science, tech, engineering and mathematical fields, but their salaries in those roles indicate women in STEM are still undervalued. According to the latest numbers from the National Science Foundation, where U.S. men in STEM earn, on average, about $65,000 annually, their female counterparts earn less than $60,000 per year.
But paychecks are only one measurement of progress (or the lack thereof).
A recent study from McKinsey confirms that women working in corporate America have made significant advancements in the last decade, even while finding that they continue to encounter an array of obstacles and “micro-aggressions” that undermine their success.
The study, which examines 10 years' worth of data supplied by 1,000 companies and includes information culled from surveys with more than 480,000 people, confirms that women working in corporate America have made many noteworthy advancements during that time.
According to McKinsey, in the last decade, corporations have heeded the feedback and direction that women employees have offered corporate leadership. This has led to three overarching enhancements:
Companies have taken action, which has led to important progress
These actions have resulted in more women advancing to leadership roles
These advancements have led to better policies and greater inclusion
Yet, the report is filled with caveats. For instance, it points out that, over the last decade, organizations have put more policies in place to support women employees and foster a greater sense of inclusion. “However, company initiatives to activate employees — who have a critical role to play in changing the culture of work — have not translated into action. As a result, the workplace has not gotten better for women: in fact, their day-to-day interactions look largely like they did several years ago,” says McKinsey.
McKinsey concludes that whatever progress has been made has occurred “against a backdrop of companies’ declining commitment to diversity. At a moment when companies should be doubling down on their efforts, there are early signs they are pulling back.”
As a result, McKinsey says, “the scorecard for corporate America is mixed,” and that scorecard appears to be even more muddled for minorities. “Women of color have experienced larger relative gains over the past several years,” says McKinsey, “but given their significant underrepresentation to start, they still have a long way to go to reach parity with white women. Women of color hold just 7 percent of C-suite roles, compared to white women’s 22 percent.”
In other words, while McKinsey acknowledges corporations have made impressive strides in the last 10 years to level the playing field, they still have much to do. “As we look ahead to the next 10 years of women in the workplace, our ask of companies is simple: keep going,” write the report’s authors. “We need companies to stay ambitious and committed to the important work they’ve started. We believe corporate America can do better, and we know women deserve better.”
Next Steps
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