A lack of visible female leaders, perceived bias in favour of men and difficulties achieving work/life balance won’t help Women’s Agenda readers stick with their current employer. But any sense of career stagnation is almost certain to drive them out.
A significant 83% of Women’s Agenda readers reported they have left one or more employers due to personal career stagnation and/or lack of direction on offer from a boss.
Despite this, just 18% reported having access to ‘clear career progression’ with their current employers in our online poll conducted throughout the month of June.
And just to make it more confusing, employers will need to do more than simply state that they have ‘clear career progression’ available in order to see women stick around, with 19% of readers declaring they find such an offering attractive compared to 42% who ranked flexible work as their top option from employers, 24% who opted for competitive remuneration, 9% who listed training and development and 6% who declared that ‘other options’ are key.
It seems our idea of ‘career progression’ is more than simply taking one step after another up the ladder to leadership. Given the number of women who have also left an employer to start their own business, a desire to get ahead for Women’s Agenda readers does not always include a desire to follow the traditional career trajectory in a corporate culture.
The poll of 311 women sought to find out what women want from their employers by identifying why readers have left previous jobs and what initiatives and programs might have helped them stick around. It was conducted in the lead up to the launch of Select Employer, a new initiative we’ve established with key partner employers who’re seeking to share the employment opportunities and diversity initiatives they offer.
While career stagnation came up as the key reason our readers are leaving employers, it certainly isn’t the only one employers should watch out for. A majority 56% of readers reported leaving a previous employer due to a lack of training and development, 54% have left one or more jobs due to difficulties achieving work/life balance, 36% due to a perceived bias in favour of men in the workplace and 19% said a lack of visible female leaders at the top have led to them walking out the door.
Meanwhile, 30% of readers disagreed when asked if their employer actively seeks ways to promote and support women in the workplace, while 19% did not know whether their employer has gender diversity initiatives or policies in place.
Organisations that don’t actively work to keep women around could face the consequences of a new competitor in the marketplace. Twenty-three per cent of readers have reported leaving a previous employer to start or build on their own business. They’re doing this to choose their own hours and place of work (27%), to feel they could make a better contribution (21%), to achieve greater autonomy (20%), to escape the ‘corporate culture’ (17%) or for other reasons such as keeping their best ideas for themselves.
Meanwhile, half of the respondents said they’d sacrifice salary to achieve better work/life balance, a finding not reserved for women with children alone given the majority of respondents reported having no kids or dependents.
Instead, it may be a desire for more control that women are chasing: everything from autonomy to hours and location. We’re seeking more than career rewards based on putting in the face-time, and chasing career progression that includes flexible options, competitive pay, training and development and work/life satisfaction.
Check out the infographic and share the results.
Click the infographic to enlarge.