How Women Lead’s Post

According to a recent Axios report, more women are employed in the U.S. than ever before. Flexibility in work arrangements and a strong labor market play key roles. But childcare challenges persist, impacting women's ability to work full-time. With women juggling work and family responsibilities, addressing the childcare crisis is crucial to keeping these women in the workforce and closing the gender pay gap. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eT-QK2Gd #childcarecrisis #genderpaygap #womeninbusiness

More working-age women are employed than ever before in U.S. history, according to Friday's jobs report. The rise in flexible work arrangements is likely helping, in addition to the strong labor market. The increase in women working also likely contributed to the recent strength in household spending, Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, writes in a note. The employment numbers — technically the employment-to-population ratio — include part-time workers. So it would include women who want to work full-time but can't due to child care issues. Women overall are working less now than in 2019, as ADP research found earlier this year. Much of the improvement was driven by college-educated women (those are the ones who can work remotely) with children under 3, Diane Swonk, chief economist of KPMG said in a post on X Friday. The bottom line: "Moral of the story. Women are working and caring for their families, but a crisis in childcare is making it harder for them to stay at work," Swonk posted. "This could snowball and cause another setback in the pay gap between women and men."

📣The data is in: 📈 50% of employers pay the median woman at least 9.1% less than the median man. 📈 30% of employers have a median gender pay gap between the target range of -5% and +5%. 📈 62% of median employer gender pay gaps are over 5% and in favour of men. This is the first round of data since employers with more than 100 employees became required to report on their equal pay practices last year. In a tight labour market, employers will no longer be able to 'hide' behind mission statements promoting their working conditions, especially for women. 💡To stay competitive and attract talent, employers will simply have to 'do better' in raising the bar for women across their policies and practices. In my view, the Gender Pay Gap is a barrier to women thriving in the workforce particularly those who have had children (which we know - based on the data - significantly impacts their earning capacity and ability to obtain leadership positions as well as accessing childcare). According to WGEA CEO Mary Woodbridge “...publication of the results today is a catalyst for action and change.” Take a peak at the data on the WGEA website here: https://lnkd.in/g6qSvWQF #GenderPayGap #WorkingWomen #LessLawyerMoreHuman

One of my grandmothers died in the late 1970s, not long after the introduction of the first equality legislation, and from time to time I wonder what she’d make of the world today if she could come back. Something she might still recognise are the sorts of jobs that men and women do.  I bet you still see men and women working predominantly in occupations you’d have traditionally expected them to be in, in organisations you cross paths with.  Of course there are many new occupations my grandmother would never have come across, and individual examples of women doing jobs that were traditionally held by men and visa versa, but I know I’m still (pleasantly) surprised when I see women getting out of a van to deal with a water network issue or to lay broadband cable, or see men working in childcare… and I’ve spent quite a lot of my career trying to increase diversity in organisations.   So, I found it quite shocking to read in the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development’s news yesterday, that almost a fifth of large organisations in the UK don’t report their gender pay gap, even though there has been a legal requirement to do so since 2017/2018. Gender pay gap reporting is about spot lighting which types of roles are filled by men and women in an organisation and all too often what that shining light finds is that women are still more likely to do the part-time and undervalued jobs. My overriding emotion is sadness, so many untapped opportunities for making valuable use of talent and potential, for so many individuals and organisations … Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash

A somewhat late post for #equalpayday 2023, but then again this needs to be highlighted not just one day in the year (albeit a significant day) but all year round. 22nd November 2023 is Equal Pay Day: this is the day when, because of the gender pay gap, women overall in the UK stop being paid compared to men (date specified from averages). With the germ season well and truly in full swing at the moment (serious question, how can a child produce so much snot??) flexibility is key for working parents, combined with shared caring responsibility, to reduce the gender pay gap. Tackling unconscious and conscious bias is the responsibility of every employee everywhere and whilst I may not see the full effects in my working life, I want to ensure my daughters working career is not hindered due to her gender. “For too long, women have put up with less fair and less equal working arrangements in exchange for flexibility. We need urgent action to ensure women are allowed to work to their full level of skills and experience. making flexibility the norm will make it easier for women to get the flexibility they need, and also normalise men taking on their fair share of caring responsibilities.” Harriet Harman “A lack of flexible working arrangements and affordable childcare combined with “outdated and toxic attitudes around motherhood” were holding women back, said its chief executive, Jemima Olchawski.” https://lnkd.in/edZG8caK

Finally, some good news! The employment gender gap shrank in 2023 as more women took advantage of jobs that allowed them to work remotely. But we can't stop there. The data reveals that there's still a significant pay gap, and women with higher educational levels and greater access to childcare are more likely to be employed. What's more, those organizations forcing RTO may hinder this progress. Employee Benefit News has all the details. ⬇️ #InclusionMatters #FutureofWork

Finally, some good news! The employment gender gap shrank in 2023 as more women took advantage of jobs that allowed them to work remotely. But we can't stop there. The data reveals that there's still a significant pay gap, and women with higher educational levels and greater access to childcare are more likely to be employed. What's more, those organizations forcing RTO may hinder this progress. Employee Benefit News has all the details. ⬇️ #InclusionMatters #FutureofWork

Let's talk about Gender Pay Equity A 20-year-old woman starting full-time work can expect to earn $407,760 less over a 40-year career compared to a man in the same position. The impact on her retirement is obvious. No wonder so many women who retire without a partner worry about having enough money. Despite the push for equal pay for equal work, women continue to earn less than men in nearly every occupation, from entry-level positions to the C-suite. We all know the wage gap is influenced by many factors including - industry, location, ethnicity, age, motherhood status, and education level. However businesses must address these disparities to ensure equal opportunities and financial stability for everyone. What hurdle does your business face to achieve pay equity? #GenderPayGap #EqualOpportunity #FinancialEquality #genderequality (source: Forbes)