Here’s why losing sight of gender equality as a priority is bad for business.
It wasn’t long ago that gender equality was a hot topic. You couldn’t step into an office without stumbling across another great initiative. Gender-balanced Boardrooms were high on every company’s wish list – and quite rightly so.
But fast-forward to 2024, and the momentum seems to have slowed. According to McKinsey’s 10th anniversary report, only 78% of companies now say gender equality is a high priority, compared to 87% in 2019. Worse still, formal mentorship programs for women have nosedived, with just 37% of companies offering them – down from 48% in 2022.
What happened? How did gender equality – a proven business advantage – start becoming an afterthought for some?
The pandemic shook things up. Businesses had to pivot, reassess, and in many cases, shift their focus to sheer survival. In that scramble, equality took a backseat. Add economic pressures like inflation, talent shortages, and political uncertainty, and suddenly diversity initiatives are seen as ‘nice to have,’ not a business imperative.
And, while remote working offered a much-needed increase to flexibility for working parents, it particularly reduced the visibility of women on leadership paths (read our Insight “What the Pandemic Taught Us About Diverse Leadership“). Aside from having less time and focus due to increased responsibilities at home, women found they were less likely to be offered the high-visibility projects necessary for career advancement. In McKinsey’s 2020 report, 20% of women in senior management positions shared they also felt left out of important decision-making meetings during the pandemic. The result? We’re moving backward.
"The rise of remote work opened doors, but ... 95% of women believe it will negatively impact their careers."
Let’s be clear: dialing back on equality is a terrible business decision.
Studies have shown that companies with higher gender equality, especially at the leadership level, are more profitable. According to McKinsey, companies with gender-diverse executive teams are 25% more likely to have above-average profitability.
Not only that, but diverse teams are also:
In a world where the customer is everything, having varied perspectives in the room isn’t just good – it’s essential.
Companies need to get back to basics. Setting measurable targets for gender equality is a must. Whether it’s increasing the number of women in leadership roles or committing to promoting diverse talent, accountability is key. What gets measured gets managed.
Despite progress, women – particularly women of color – still face barriers in getting promoted. For every 100 men promoted to manager, only 54 Black women make the jump. The pipeline problem needs to be tackled head-on by offering women better leadership training initiatives access to key projects, and an equal opportunity to showcase their talents.
The rise of remote work opened doors, but many women feel that taking advantage of flexibility will harm their promotion prospects. In fact, 95% of women believe it will negatively impact their careers.
To combat this perception, companies need to normalize flexible working, ensuring it doesn’t come with unspoken penalties.
Offering bias training is a good start, but it’s not enough. Although 86% of companies provide this type of training, real change comes from empowering employees to challenge bias in everyday interactions. Encourage senior leadership teams to champion these efforts and make fighting bias a continuous, visible priority.
The drop in corporate commitment to gender equality is alarming, but we can also choose to see it as an opportunity. An opportunity for forward-thinking businesses to stand out, recommit to equality, and reap the rewards.
Want to join the conversation? Partnering with WeQual shows a clear commitment to supporting your women leaders at executive and mid-management levels and driving gender equality in your organization.
Find out more about our WeQual Executives program here, and our Rising Leaders program here.
