Women in corporate America are backsliding, warns new report

""This is a moment where corporate America is backsliding on women," Sheryl Sandberg, the former Facebook executive who founded Lean In, tells Axios. Despite years of corporate pledges to advance women, 54% of HR professionals surveyed by the group now say women's career advancement is a priority at their organization - and that falls to 46% for women of color. That marks a sharp drop from 2017, when gender equity surged on to corporate agendas after Donald Trump's election and 88% of companies told Lean In it was a high priority."

"The researchers found a new "ambition gap" between men and women in a survey of about 9,500 professionals conducted this summer. When asked if they wanted a promotion, 80% of women said yes - compared to 86% of men. At the entry level, defined as employees without direct reports responsible for carrying out "discrete tasks and participating on teams," 69% of women wanted a promotion compared to 80% of men. The report's authors said it was the first time in 11 years they'd found such a distinct gap."

"The report explains this ambition gap in a few ways. Women have more obligations outside of work - exacerbated this year by the loss of flexible remote work. At the entry level they're less likely to be managers, and thus don't have the same opportunities for advancement. And at the senior level, women are burned out and worried that their gender will impede the next step up."

Corporate prioritization of women's advancement has declined sharply, with only 54% of HR professionals now saying it is a priority and only 46% for women of color. Enthusiasm for promotions shows an ambition gap: 80% of women versus 86% of men overall, and at the entry level 69% of women versus 80% of men. Contributing factors include increased caregiving and outside obligations, reduced flexible remote work, fewer entry-level managerial roles, senior-level burnout, and concerns that gender will impede advancement. Companies are reducing DEI and recruitment efforts that benefited women, while return-to-office mandates are pushing some women out of the workforce.

Read at Axios