P&G takes action on gender equality research, Part II

27 Apr 2021 --- In the second part of this article, we look at how perceptions about women in the workplace have evolved in recent years, ongoing challenges and the ways in which P&G and its research partner believes are the best way to overcome inequality for females.

In the first part of this article we looked at some of the research findings and the specific challenges that career women are facing in the beauty and personal care environment. You can read that article by clicking here. 

The Female Lead, a gender equality partner of multinational personal care giant, P&G, recently revealed its latest research detailing the challenges facing women in the workplace. Here we explore outdated presumptions about women in the workplace, ongoing challenges, and the report's suggestion on how to tackle all these problems.

Click to EnlargeHighlighting outdated presumptions

Myths and outdated assumptions continue to plague females in the working environment. The women at work report identified key findings indicating these outdated presumptions that no longer exist, according to the report. 

Women resist the term ‘ambitious’ and suffer inner conflict about being career-focused. Ambition, independence, and high impact and challenging work were embraced and no longer a point of conflict; a contrast to the previous 1994 report’s findings.

Motherhood trumps all else and shifts career and professional identity to a backseat. For all participants (whether they were mothers or not), career was given as a  fundamental component of their sense of self and purpose in life.

But women are uncomfortable earning more than their partners and place less value on their earning power. All participants placed a very high value on financial independence. Indeed, imposter syndrome is a significant inhibitor to job performance and drive. Although over a quarter (26%) of participants described experiencing imposter syndrome, they were not deterred by it and approached the challenge as an opportunity to learn new skills.

Female workers (particularly mothers) are more averse to embracing new challenges and risks. Discovering satisfying work conditions was connected to being open to changing jobs or to leaving an employment role for an entrepreneurial one. Finding a job challenging, comfortability in the workplace culture, and having opportunities to make a positive impact and grow were also important. A sense of purpose, flexibility, control and balance were also key to imagining a more positive future working environment.

“The discovery of the ‘unentitled mindset’ clearly demonstrates the need to better empower women to pursue their career ambitions with confidence and free of damaging stereotypes,” outlines Annie Murphy SVP, global chief commercial brands officer and international retail, Walgreens Boots Alliance, on behalf of No7. 

Ongoing problems

As part of the unentitled mindset, Dr. Terri Aptar, of P&G's research partner The Female Lead, revealed persistent problems impacting women at work that create barriers to progression: 

• An ‘unentitled mindset’ persists at the pay negotiation table. An overt example of internalized bias relates to a lack of confidence in negotiating pay increases and promotion, with the workplace experience leaving women unsure of their promotion entitlement, to more family-friendly conditions or pay increases. Training and development are required to identify and develop pay raise and promotion discussions. 
• Intersectionality offers fewer escape routes from persistent bias. Compared with the 1994 study, in 2020, there has been a clear shift with women resisting overt bias and willing to challenge its presence. However, overt bias was heightened when it intersected with a bias towards race, ethnicity, disability, sexuality or religion.
• Persistent bias towards returning mothers from maternity. The study reveals that one type of bias that presents an ongoing threat to career progression is expectation bias, directed towards women returning from maternity leave, which directly contributes to an ‘unentitled mindset’.
• A ‘flexibility penalty’ exists for both part-time work and full-time workers who embrace work schedule freedom. The participants found that even full-time work, when done flexibly, incurs a career penalty and contributes considerably to the ‘entitlement’ gap. Such impact is demonstrated even when the flexibility given is minimal and only refers to the requirement to work over-time.
• The burden of the mental load. The responsibility or pressure was felt even where household (and childcare) tasks were split relatively equally in a relationship, yet the responsibility or ‘mental load’ still fell to women in the majority of those asked.

Click to EnlargeAchieving gender equality: what must happen? 

The Women at Work research sets out specific recommendations and a renewed focus to push ahead with the goal of attaining gender parity.

Adopting a multi-faceted approach is essential. To do so and to reach sustained progress, focus must be given to tackling embedded structures in both the workplace and society to impact long-term change. This must happen alongside women being able to upskill and break free of the ‘unentitled mindset’. The Female Lead is advocating businesses to address these, particularly in the two most prevalent areas—pay and flexibility.

The Female Lead’s report highlights three key priority actions that need to be taken to achieve gender equality in the workplace: 

1. Create and produce personalized self-service content and resources to help women and girls build skills, resilience and self-awareness to overcome the impact of the ‘unentitled mindset’.
2. Raise awareness of the ‘unentitled mindset’ to help business leaders tackle the embedded structures and processes that limit progress and equality for women and minorities.
3. Partner with businesses and stakeholder organizations to highlight the opportunity to design high-value jobs that distance themselves from the traditional model of full-time employment for life.

The solution lies in collaboration, highlights Dr. Apter, at the end of the report: “Instead of the directive to ‘lean in’, economic recovery requires a dynamic collaboration. Our ‘Close The Entitlement Gap’ campaign speaks to that call and collaboration.”

“By remaining focused on our intent to tackle gender bias, we will bring everyone along on the journey towards a more inclusive world,” said Amy Williams, manager, company communications, P&G Northern Europe.

By Natasha Spencer-Jolliffe, BPC Insights Senior Journalist