Women at Work report 2023: Progress at diminutive rate

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In recent years, there has been a growing conversation around the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Despite this, many companies still struggle to create an environment that is truly inclusive, particularly for women. This year’s Deloitte’s Women at Work report (publicised as ‘Women @ Work’), published in April 2023, sheds light on the state of gender equality in the workplace and highlights some of the key challenges that women continue to face.

Women at Work report

Now in its third year, the report is based on a global survey of 5,000 women across 10 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and China. The survey sought to better understand the experiences of women in the workplace, as well as their attitudes towards gender equality.

One of the key findings of the report is that many women continue to face significant barriers in the workplace, particularly when it comes to career progression. According to the survey, 25% of women looking to leave their current employers were doing so due to a lack of development and advancement opportunities.

Furthermore, women are more likely to experience microaggressions, such as being interrupted or talked over in meetings, which can further impede their ability to advance in their careers.

Many women have had to juggle work and family responsibilities, often with little support from their employers. This has led to increased stress and burnout, as well as a greater risk of leaving the workforce altogether.

Abuse and discrimination

44% women reported experiencing harassment and/or microaggressions in the workplace. Though this is a welcome decline from last year’s 59%, these numbers are still far too high, and more than half of women who experienced these behaviours did not feel comfortable reporting it to their employers.

Concerningly, LGBT+ women (76%) and women in ethnic minority groups (53%) experienced more non-inclusive behaviours in the last 12 months.

Employment law protects most workers, including employees and those who are self-employed, against sex, race and sexual orientation discrimination. Any differential treatment due to any protected characteristics may result in an employee being able to bring a claim against their employer.

Flexibility

There is a clear correlation between flexibility and loyalty to an employer. Two-thirds of women in highly flexible work arrangements state that they plan to stay with their company for at least more than three years. This is in contrast to just 19% of women who have no flexibility.

Unfortunately, many women still feel uncomfortable taking advantage of flexible work options because of the perceived stigma around it. A huge 97% believe requesting or taking advantage of flexible working would affect their likelihood of promotion, and similar 95% believe that it is unlikely their workload would be adjusted accordingly despite them moving to a flexible working arrangement.

Shockingly, more women worldwide left their jobs in the last 12 months than in 2020 and 2021 combined, citing a lack of flexibility among the top reasons.

Menstruation and menopause

Many of working women are experiencing health challenges related to menstruation and menopause. Among them, more than 40% report working through pain or symptoms related to menstruation and 20% work through symptoms related to menopause.

Sadly, through no fault of their own, women continue to feel uncomfortable talking about mental and personal health challenges in the workplace, with many struggling with menstruation and menopause symptoms in silence – this is an unacceptable and unwelcome situation in 2023.

When asked about benefits employers can offer to support women, more than half of respondents said they believe employers should offer paid leave for women experiencing health challenges related to menstruation and menopause. However less than a third said their employer currently offers paid leave related to menstrual symptoms and only one in five offer paid leave for menopause symptoms.

A number of UK charities are calling for increased protection for women in relation to female health issues. In 2022, Spain introduced legislation to give women suffering from severe period pain, three days’ worth of medical leave each month, paid for by the government; this can be extended to five days in appropriate cases. As of May 2023, there are no such provisions currently available in the UK.

Most women will suffer mild symptoms during their period, and the majority will deal with this using over the counter medication. However, in more extreme cases, women may have medical conditions such as adenomyosis, endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease and, as a result, may suffer excruciating pain and heavier periods. Some women find the effects of the menopause can result in various health issues, such as anxiety and depression.

Period pain and the menopause are not specifically protected under the Equality Act 2010. If, however, an employee is treated unfairly because of a medical condition (such as those listed above), it may amount to discrimination under the protected characteristics of sex, disability or age.

Regarding disability, the legal test is based on what the impact of your condition would be without any medication or treatment. The statutory test is that a person has a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment, and the impairment has a substantial and long-term (at least 12 months) adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

If an employee can demonstrate that she has a disability in the legal sense due to her period or the menopause, her employer is under a duty to make reasonable adjustments. This might include adjusting the triggers in the company’s absence management policies.

As this topic receives more publicity, we may see women with debilitating period pain and associated symptoms or problematic menopausal symptoms taking action at work, as people become more comfortable discussing the issue. Furthermore, even if menstrual symptoms aren’t serious enough to amount to a disability, they may still impact on staff performance.

Many businesses are therefore realising that women need particular support regarding their periods and the menopause and want to be proactive in managing the issue.

There are a significant number of points from the Deloitte Women at Work survey but the support for paid menopause leave is one of particular note. 52% of the 5,000 participants in this year’s poll said believe that this is something their employer should offer to them or other members of staff. This of course comes weeks after the government rejected a proposal to trial menopause leave in England.

Stress at work

This year’s report confirms, statistically, fewer women are suffering from burnout (likely as a result of normality return after the aftermath of the pandemic) and women rated their mental health overall as slightly better than last year.

However, worryingly, nearly a third of women are still burned out, over one-third rate their mental health as poor/very poor, more than half rated their mental health as a top concern, around half say their stress levels are actually more significant than a year ago and only 37% of women say they feel able to switch off from work which is a decrease from 45% in last year’s report.

The Women @ Work report highlights some of the steps that companies can take to promote gender equality in the workplace. For example, the report recommends that companies focus on creating a more inclusive culture, by actively promoting diversity and inclusion and addressing any unconscious biases that may exist.

Additionally, companies can provide more flexible working arrangements, such as remote working options or job-sharing, to help support employees with caregiving responsibilities.

Overall, the Women @ Work report provides valuable insights into the state of gender equality in the workplace. While some progress has been made in recent years, there is still a significant amount of work to be done to create a truly inclusive and equitable work environment for women.

By taking steps to address the challenges highlighted in the report, companies can help to create a workplace that is truly inclusive and supportive for all employees, regardless of their gender.