Anne-Marie Slaughter, author of Unfinished Business: Women Men Work Family, recently wrote in the New York Times that today’s fast paced, ultra competitive workplace is losing women. America has unlocked the talent of its women in a way that few nations can match; girls are outpacing boys academically and are now entering the work force at higher salaries. But the ranks of those women thin significantly as they rise toward the top, from more than 50 percent at entry level to less than 20 percent in senior management. Slaughter speculates that too many women look at their lives and discover that what was a manageable and enjoyable work-family balance earlier in their careers can no longer be sustained — regardless of ambition, confidence or even a partner who shares tasks equally.
Sustainability is key. While women have been more likely to be the primary caregivers in a family, they are increasingly primary breadwinners, too. Four in 10 American households with children under age 18 now include a mother who is either the sole or primary earner for her family, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of census and polling data, a number that has quadrupled since 1960.
The need to make it all work is something that employers need to consider to maintain high-performing employees. Many women who started out with all the ambition in the world find themselves in a place they never expected to be. They do not choose to leave their jobs and they are shut out by the refusal of their bosses to make it possible for them to fit their family life and their work life together.
An Ernst & Young study finds that Millennial women in particular are so serious about finding work-life balance, they’re willing to relocate to find it. Millennials are also more willing than other generations to pass up a promotion, change jobs, take a pay cut, or even change careers in order to achieve more flexibility.
The inability to make it all work is one of the reasons why many women are taking matters into their own hands and opening their own businesses. The Great Recession and the years since have seen a huge surge in female entrepreneurs, who are not only working for themselves, they’re making a good living in the process. In fact, over the last 17 years, women-owned businesses have increased dramatically. According to the State-Owned Business Report, commissioned by American Express, the rate of increase is a staggering 68% since 1997, with more than 9.1 million women-owned businesses operating in 2014, up from 8.6 2013. This surging-growth pace, which has doubled in three years, has helped to generate nearly $1.5 trillion in revenues for women-owned businesses.
This quest to achieve a work-life balance is not a “women’s problem” it is a workplace issue. As Slaughter concluded, we need to make fundamental shifts in the way we think, talk and confer prestige. If we really valued care, we would not regard time out for caregiving — for our children, parents, spouse, sibling or any other member of our extended or constructed family — as a black hole on a résumé. We would see it as engaging in a socially, personally and professionally valuable activity. We would see men who lean out for care as role models just as much as women who lean in for work. We would think managing kids matters as much as managing money.
We have to work together to change both the workplace and the larger culture. By working together, we can choose to build a workplace that works for us and supports a healthy and productive work-life balance. When we improve the lives of women, we improve the lives of everyone around the world. Just as we step into our power and make our voices heard, we need to claim our right to have balance in our lives, and the freedom to provide both care and income for our families regardless of our gender.
Making The Workplace Work For Women
