The remote work penalty that hurts women | Fortune

"One finding stood out to me: women who work remotely are promoted at lower rates than men who do the same. Thirty-seven percent of women who work remotely three or more days a week have been promoted in the past two years-but 49% of men with the same arrangement have. This problem is starting early. Among entry-level remote workers, 44% of men were promoted and only 25% of women were."

"What's most shocking to me is not that this gap exists, but that it nearly disappears when you look at only women and men who both work mostly in the office. Among that cohort of on-site employees, 54% of men got a promotion in the past two years-and so did 53% of women. We are seeing the impact of how companies handle remote work on women in real time. And I'm careful to say the impact of how companies treat it and not of remote work itself, because we've also seen the consequences of eliminating flexible working arrangements-women have been dropping out of the workforce entirely."

"This result sits at the intersection of two trends. First, 25% of companies have scaled back or discontinued remote or hybrid work. Second, Lean In says an ambition gap is emerging for the first time in its decade of doing this research. Women are saying they are less likely to want to be promoted. Eighty percent of women say they want to be promoted, compared to 86% of men, with the gap becoming more pronounced at the entry level and at senior levels (it evens out mid-career)."

Only half of companies are prioritizing women's advancement today. Women who work remotely three or more days a week are promoted at lower rates than men in the same arrangement: 37% versus 49% over the past two years. The gap begins early among entry-level remote workers (25% of women promoted versus 44% of men). Remote women are also less likely to report having a sponsor (37% versus 52%). Promotion parity nearly disappears for mostly on-site employees (54% of men and 53% of women). One quarter of companies have scaled back remote options, and an ambition gap is emerging: 80% of women versus 86% of men want promotions, with larger divergence at entry and senior levels.

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