Hello again. We’ve finally finished compiling the fascinating results of the survey which we undertook last month in support of International Women’s Day – and, as predicted at the time, the results make for grim and thought provoking reading. We were trying to assess the first impressions of the impact of the global economic crisis on women's careers and prospects, now and in the future, and we asked:
Will the recession break the glass ceiling or reinforce it? Will it set equality back ten years, or put women on an equal footing for caring and pay responsibilities? Have women been more adversely affected by job cuts than men? Or is the recession's potential impact on women all just … hype?
Over a thousand people responded from around the world. 43% of the survey’s respondents were in the banking, finance and professional services sector in London and the UK’s southeast; the balance were based in other parts of the UK, mainland Europe, the US, China, India and Australia.
91% of respondents were female, which I suppose comes as no surprise given the channels that were used to socialise the survey around the globe. 75% are in full-time employment.
The primary finding is that the pipeline of female leadership for Business PLC could be reversed or irreparably damaged by the recession, with almost three quarters of the respondents saying that they see redundancy as an opportunity to exit corporate life and make a new start. 60% believe the recession will reinforce the glass ceiling, making it more difficult for women to progress.
- 45% believe it will lead to a shift of women into Small Medium Enterprises/social enterprise careers
- 40% of respondents said that they believe women’s roles will change, to become the main earner
- 30% predict that presenteeism and a long hours working culture will re-emerge as people seek to ensure their job security
- One in three believe women’s role as the primary carer will have changed when the recession is over (36%)
The survey demonstrates how short term decisions regarding reductions in training, development and redundancies could adversely affect women’s development and progress to leadership positions in the recovering economy. 50% of respondents believe reductions in learning and development budgets now will make it more difficult for women to progress in the long term.
Asked to select one prediction of the world of work in three years time, respondents appear to be bracing themselves for a bitter legacy from the recession. The top prediction, as I mentioned at the PwC IWE event last month, was the re-emergence of presenteeism and a long hours working culture, as people seek to ensure their role’s continued survival. A further 12% believe that corporate expectations of working hours will have changed and ten percent predicted that uncertainty about financial and work issues will have caused people to delay having a family. One respondent shared her fear that:
“ … all other factors being equal, roles will be offered to those without family responsibilities, as they will be perceived as better value for money.”
And others commented that the changes would not be gender-specific as much as age-specific, with comments such as:
“… it will be hard for all of the working population. In fact, I think it will be hard on older employees looking for work, mid-career employees looking for promotion opportunities with new graduates / early career employees knocking on the door for promotion as well” and “for the first time in my life, I feel my age may go against me rather than my gender.”
Globally, 66% of the respondents agreed that it would be harder for women in developing economies to emerge from poverty and 40% see this level of uncertainty continuing for the next 12 – 18 months, as we witness the recession ripple around the world.
On behalf of PwC, I’d like to thank everyone who took the time and trouble to contribute their responses. Keep an eye on the “Read, watch and listen” page of the main website for a download which will contain some more detailed findings later this month.
Until next time
Cleo
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