Women at work are happy but undervalued and still underpaid
Employers must address the feeling of not being trusted or empowered
As we look ahead to a new decade, there’s much to cheer about when it comes to women at work. We’ve seen the percentage of women aged 16-64 in work increase by almost 10 points since the beginning of 2010 to a record 71.8pc. For men, the figure is 80.3pc.
There are also more women in a wider variety of roles and industries than ever before, which makes it a good time for employers to think about where they’re best supporting – and failing – them. As we found last year with data from my engaging. works website, which measures the workplace happiness of thousands of employees, there was no gender workplace happiness gap – women and men were finally on par.
Reasons to be cheerful
Our data again shows that men and women are equally happy at work, scoring 6.37 and 6.39 out of 10, respectively. The data also shows that women enjoy their jobs more, with 69.4pc saying as much, compared to 66.8pc of men – a significant difference.
When asked if they’re happy with their working hours, 73.1pc of women said yes, compared to 71.4pc of men. And those who work in the business and management services sector are happiest, scoring eight out of 10. At the lower end, however, women working in IT roles fare poorly, at 5.84. There is a rapid increase in women joining industries in the traditionally maledominated fields of science, technology, engineering and maths, but they must ensure that female workers are adequately rewarded and developed.
Room for improvement
Cracks also appear in questions about development, reward and trust. Women feel less developed than men at work, with 59.5pc saying they feel they are being developed at work compared to 60.7pc of men. Women also feel less rewarded for their work, with 60.6pc saying this is an issue, compared to 61.6pc of men. Another gap can be seen on trust. Fewer women said they feel trusted to make decisions than men, at 67.9pc to 69.1pc.
Empowerment seems to be an continuing problem, with female respondents feeling less empowered than men at 64.8pc to 66.6pc. And when it comes to having the right and enough resources, women again score lower. The key takeaway for employers? Women aren’t getting what they need in both practical and emotional terms to do their job well.
Well-being at work is an area that my survey has increasingly focused on, and our data shows that women working in finance roles score poorly at 48.8pc when asked if they feel depressed or anxious at work. Those in creative or design roles also rate their environment as poor, scoring 51.3pc. These are two departments where businesses in all sectors can do better. Despite there being difficulties with development and trust, it seems that women like their jobs more than men. They feel more proud to work for their organisation (69.8pc said as such, versus 68.3pc of men).
Looking ahead to 2020 and beyond
As we prepare to enter a new decade, I suggest three areas that employers need to focus on to ensure a happier female workforce – and reap the productivity benefits that come with it.
First, employers must empower their female staff. This means making them a key part of the decisionmaking process, listening to their ideas and using their suggestions to build and refine the business.
Second is development. Employers can improve here by having regular reviews of performance to discuss their workers’ training. Introducing a mentoring scheme will also help female employees to regularly assess their development.
Finally, there is reward. This can come in different forms, including financial. If your female employees feel they’re not being paid fairly, this must be addressed. No amount of recognition for a job well done will make staff forget that they aren’t being paid enough.