COMP NEWS – Organizations should tailor their benefits packages toward women in order to increase talent retention, according to research by the British Standards Institute.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, labor experts and equality advocates have honed in on the virus’ effect on the future of work in particular regard to women. But coronavirus isn’t only to blame. Childcare-related attrition from the workforce — and complications therein — have long existed. The lasting effects of this gender-specific burden were spotlighted in research firm British Standards Institute “Lifting the Second Glass Ceiling” survey.
The secondary glass ceiling refers to the “broken middle rung” many women and marginalized people face when working their way up to the C-suite. Gender roles and related responsibilities often get in the way of success.
The report encompasses the view of 5,000 workers; BSI polled women in the U.K., U.S., Australia, China and Japan. While some respondents said they see women in leadership roles, 42% agreed it was “uncommon” to see older women in leadership positions. BSI said this further indicates “a second glass ceiling” is in place.
Not seeing older women in leadership was slightly more common in HR; IT; arts and culture; manufacturing; utilities and finance than it was in healthcare and legal professions.
Researchers propose that bridging the gendered benefits gap could boost growth and enhance innovation.
Along with flexibility to support child-rearing, BSI researchers further encouraged employers to consider many women’s lived experiences and need for reproductive health care.
“When women leave the workforce early or before they have the opportunity to reach senior positions — whether because of caring responsibilities, structural factors or because their presence is not valued — this can contribute to significant productivity losses, rob organizations of talented people, and remove mentors who can draw on their experience to guide newer members of staff,” Anne Hayes, director of sectors at BSI, said in the report.
Beyond a moral imperative, BSI suggested that bridging the gendered benefit gap “is an opportunity to boost growth, enhance innovation and accelerate progress towards a sustainable world.”
To read more about ways organizations can tailor their benefits packages towards women, click here.
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