Women at work; attitudes, 'onliness' and confidence

I love International Women's Day - a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. As a millennial woman I am thankful for the input, stories and experiences of women I know, and how they have navigated the complexities that come with balancing competing priorities.

We have more women in our workplaces today than ever before. According to our research, three in four employed Australians (74 per cent) consider equal representation of women on company boards and in corporate leadership to be important, yet 48 per cent believe not enough progress is being made towards this ambition. 

The last few months I've been researching aspects of healthy workplaces that prioritise the wellbeing of their teams, and when thinking about the current world of work, one of the key definers of today's workplace is diversity.

Workers today expect their organisations to reflect the broader society in which they operate. This is particularly true for Generation Z, for whom these factors make no difference: their leader being born outside of Australia, their leader being a woman and their leader being the same age as them (75, 67 and 66 per cent respectively). And, the majority of those who didn’t select ‘makes no difference’ stated that those characteristics in leaders are positive!

The benefits of diversity (age, gender, cultural background and so on) in the demographics of a workplace as well as in other areas (personal characteristics, family composition, education, tenure within a company or lifestyle) enable organisations to create a competitive advantage for themselves. By welcoming different perspectives, they are better able to connect with a wider and more global audience.

The far-reaching effects of being the ‘only one’ in your workplace

When there is a lack of diversity, or if people feel like they don’t belong in a workplace they can feel a sense of ‘onliness’. McKinsey noted in their ‘Women in the workplace’ report that women are three times more likely to experience an ‘only’ moment when they are the only female in a room (20 per cent of women experience this compared to just seven per cent of men).

Women are more likely to experience discrimination in the workplace than men, but being the only woman is even more discomfiting and has far-reaching effects. Solitary females in a workplace are more likely to: have their judgement questioned than women working in a gender-balanced environment (49 per cent cf. 32 per cent); be mistaken for someone more junior (35 per cent cf. 15 per cent); and be subjected to unprofessional and demeaning remarks (24 per cent cf. 14 per cent). Women who experience ‘onliness’ are also more likely to contemplate leaving their jobs (26 per cent) than other women (17 per cent).

More women in the workforce than ever before

Societal shifts (like the rising cost of living, households needing a dual income and the delaying of marriage and children) have resulted in more women being in the workforce now than at any other time in history.

Although women comprise almost exactly half (47 per cent) of Australia’s workforce, only 17 per cent are CEOs and 30 per cent directors in the ASX 200 companies.

Wellbeing will be enhanced in our workplaces as these percentages grow such that organisations, boards and governance are reflective of the society in which they operate.

Flexibility is key to enabling both men and women to thrive in their career

More than two in five workers (44 per cent) agree that not having adequate flexible working options holds back Australian workplaces from achieving 50 per cent women in senior leadership roles. This is followed by a lack of support for women exiting the workplace for family reasons (41 per cent). 

If we want more women in the workforce we need more organisations to model flexibility and wellbeing that enables women, and parents generally, to thrive in their work while juggling competing priorities.

In her book Thrive, Arianna Huffington said: ‘Most of the time, the discussion about the challenges of women at the top centres around the difficulty of navigating career and children – of “having it all”. It’s time we recognise that, as the workplace is currently structured, a lot of women don’t want to get to the top and stay there because they don’t want to pay the price – in terms of their health, their wellbeing and their happiness.’

Flexible workplace conditions are critical to overall employee engagement - for both women and men, mums and dads, to thrive in their career. The emerging generation of workers are post-dialectic in their nature - seeking both career advancement and a family. To allow for this, we need organisations who provide flexibility and support for both men and women, along with leaders who model this well.

Practical strategies to achieve this include flexible working hours, job sharing opportunities, extended parental leave, teleworking options, senior leaders modelling healthy work-life balance, shared leadership roles and a tracking metrics of wellbeing in addition to performance.

How men and women approach new opportunities differently

A common misconception about wellbeing is that it merely refers to people being in a state of balance or rest. While consistency is important, wellbeing and thriving is about human flourishing - to grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way.

According to our research, when workers are given a responsibility or a task outside of their comfort zone that stretches their capacity, almost all (94 per cent) know that these types of tasks and experiences grow them. Two in five (41 per cent) say they enjoy the process, while the majority (53 per cent) say they don’t enjoy the process but they know it grows them.

Growth, stretching in capacity and even the occasional stress that accompanies this are not opposites to wellbeing. In fact, they contribute to flourishing. It is the responsibility of workplace leaders to identify opportunities for their teams to grow and stretch in their capacity, to offer training to help equip workers learn and grow.

When we drilled down into this data, we found that men were more likely than women to enjoy the process of doing something outside their comfort zone and knew it stretched them (44 per cent cf. 36 per cent). Women were more likely than men to say that while they didn’t always enjoy the process, they knew being given a responsibility or task outside of their comfort zone that stretched their capacity grew them (60 per cent cf. 49 per cent of men).

This finding tells me we need courageous leaders who will step up and provide opportunities for training and advancement and ensure all team members have growth opportunities - not just those who enjoy the process more. Being aware that men are likely to step up first for opportunities they do not feel qualified in / confident about is important for leaders to be aware of. Because women need these opportunities as well.

I truly believe that if we want wellbeing to ensue in our teams, workplaces and society, then women need to speak up, have seats at the table and equal opportunities to grow and contribute.

Ashley Fell is a social researcher and is recognised as a leader in tracking emerging issues and researching social trends. She is a TEDx speaker, regularly delivering keynote presentations and is the Director of Communications at McCrindle, who count among its clients more than 100 of Australia's largest companies and leading international brands.