Despite more women than men being aware of career opportunities in their company (61% and 57% respectively), organisations are lacking when it comes to engaging women, according to an analysis of opinion from 255,000 working women around the world by Culture Amp, the people and culture platform.

The research found that while 73% of men showed high levels of engagement with organisations, only 71% of working women felt the same way. The level of engagement dipped further to 68% for working women in Europe compared to 69% in Asia and 72% North America – posing a challenge for UK organisations under pressure to improve the gender balance across the workforce and maximise the impact of their people in competitive talent markets.

The numbers

Data showed that men and women have vastly different experiences in influencing decision-making at work. Just 59% of working women globally compared to 72% of men felt included in decisions that affect their work.  This has led to under half of the women (46%), versus 58% of men, being happy with how decisions are made at their firms. 

It’s no wonder that working women are feeling disheartened with just over half (57%) of those in Europe agreeing that their company has open and honest two-way communication compared to 68% of men. 

There’s a similar discrepancy between how administrative tasks that don’t have a specific owner (e.g., taking meeting notes or cleaning up shared spaces) are divided with 49% of working women and 59% of men agreeing that tasks are distributed fairly . The trend continues with 81% of men feeling that people from all backgrounds have equal opportunities to succeed at the company compared to 71% of women.

The glass ceiling

“Despite spending billions on D&I training to try and shatter the glass ceiling, organisations are putting up glass partitions that hold women back,” warns Aubrey Blanche, global head of equitable design & impact, Culture Amp. 

“If companies are spending money on women’s programs but aren’t giving them true power in the way that their careers progress and the business is run, that’s not real change and businesses will suffer. 

“Give women the power to control their destinies; the data shows us that you’ll see greater transparency and communication, higher employee engagement, and increased business performance.

“2020 is the year that the most successful leaders will stop talking about how much they care about D&I and actually put power in women and non-binary people’s hands.”