Dive Brief:
- Around two-thirds of women professionals surveyed by Glassdoor said they do not believe they are being paid fairly for their work, up from 60% of women surveyed in 2023, according to a Glassdoor report released today.
- The top industries represented among women reporting unfair pay include accounting (73% of women surveyed), tech (61%) and consulting (58%). Accounting jumped from third place in 2023 to first in 2024.
- Additionally, 43% of employees said there aren’t enough women in leadership at their organizations, with heightened differences in perception between generations. Almost 60% of Generation Z employees say there aren’t enough women in leadership, compared to 25% of baby boomers.
Dive Insight:
A similar share of women told Checkr they believe they are paid less than their male counterparts for the same work, according to a late February report from the company. Only 16% of women surveyed said they believe gender bias doesn’t affect their compensation.
Notably, that study indicated that while Gen Z workers reported they felt less affected by the gender pay gap, they also reported having significantly less confidence that women are well-represented in management roles.
The uncontrolled pay gap — that is, the difference in pay between men and women not checked by other factors — may be in part driven by the “unequal or inequitable distribution of employment and opportunities between men and women,” according to Payscale’s 2024 Gender Pay Gap Report. For example, women tend to experience a “motherhood penalty” to their pay, while fathers tend to make more money than their male counterparts without children, Payscale noted.
To retain women, employers may need to double down on structuring pay to eliminate biases and unfairness, in addition to creating a psychologically healthy work culture and maintaining flexibility, Great Place to Work said in 2022. Flexibility and pay are especially big factors in why women stay — or leave — their current jobs, a Deloitte report found in 2023.
That same report also found that women still feel heavy pressure outside the office that may ultimately keep them from rising through the ranks. For example, while 88% of respondents to Deloitte said they work full time, nearly half also said they have the primary responsibility for domestic tasks at home, including parenting. These pressures may add to burnout, prompting women to leave the workforce before they can hit their stride, especially regarding earning potential.
