Introduction
This research report was commissioned by HiBob in honor of International Women’s Day 2022 and surveyed 1,000 professional women in the US. All respondents were aged 25 and older and were employed full-time in a hybrid or in-office workplace in 2020 and 2021. This report provides insights on professional women’s perceptions about compensation, promotions, the Great Resignation, the influence of company culture, and more.
The data also includes breakdowns by company size, role, profession, and age groups, where differences of opinion provide vital insights into the multiplicity of challenges women face in the workplace.
Five key takeaways
1. Nearly half of US professional women believe that they have achieved pay equality and are being promoted as often as men
Women have made significant progress in the US workplace. Nearly half of women professionals (48%) believe that women and men receive equal pay at their company. This belief is consistent for the various roles across a company (senior managers, middle managers, and individual contributors), but not among the various professions. 50% of women in tech believe there is pay equality, compared to 39% of women in HR.
A majority of women (53%) also feel that women and men are equally promoted. This is fairly consistent across company size, role, and profession. 21% of US professional women who are senior managers (senior directors, VPs, or executives) believe that women are promoted more often or quicker than men while 27% believe that men are promoted more.
2. US professional women are thriving with advances in pay, benefits, and promotions
Nearly three-quarters of women in middle management (71%) received an increase in pay, benefits, or position in 2021, as did 67% of senior managers and 54% of individual contributors. 47% of all respondents received a pay increase, while 28% were promoted to a new position, and 23% received a boost in benefits.
Senior managers were 1.25 times more likely to be promoted to a new position than middle managers or 3 times more likely than individual contributors. However, the likelihood of pay increases was nearly the same for middle managers (51%) and senior managers (49%), although lower for individual contributors (42%).
3. The vast majority of US professional women are confident in their roles
A healthy 78% of US women professionals are confident in their positions at work. Women in engineering and technical roles were most confident in their performance (87%), followed by women in middle management and women in medium-sized companies (81% each).
Surprisingly, only 69% of women in HR share this confidence, and 11% report that they constantly struggle with confidence in their performance. Less surprising, but equally concerning, is that only 64% of women in senior positions are confident, with 11% constantly struggling with confidence in their performance.
4. The Great Resignation may be slowing
More than one-quarter (27%) of professional women in the US changed jobs in 2021, compared to 38% of senior managers, and 33% of women in tech. Nearly as many women quit their jobs as were fired (13% vs. 12%).
In 2022, 13% expect to leave their jobs compared to only 15% who quit in 2021. Far fewer women in tech expect to leave their jobs in 2022 (7%) compared to 2021 (21%). Senior managers still expect to be mobile, although less so than in 2021 (16% vs. 20%).
5. Enticing professional women takes more than just pay
The most important criteria for enticing employees in 2021 was an increase in pay (66%), followed by flexible work (52%), and a strong and healthy culture (39%). Women in tech were much more attracted to company culture (51%) than HR (35%) or all other professions (37%).
Pay, flexibility, and culture are the top three enticements across all company sizes, roles, and professions. However, the third most popular enticement differed among the age groups. Women 25-34 and 35-44 were enticed by a strong and healthy company culture (42% and 39%), while women over 54 were drawn to a company’s values (31%) or growth and success (30%).
The women-men pay gap
Do you feel that men and women are paid equally for the same role at your company?
Breakdown by company size
In the US 48 percent of all respondents believe that women and men are paid equally at the company they work for. 51 percent of women working in mid-sized companies experience this equality compared to only 44 percent of women working at large companies.
All other answers allude to the perception that 52 percent are not sure if the pay is equal for the same role while 48 percent feel they work for a company with equal pay for the same role. Mid-sized companies are reported to be more equal in pay.
Breakdown by role
Examining the role differences, we focused on the feelings of inequality. Overall, 31 percent of women in any role believe men are paid more than women in their company. This sentiment is much lower among senior managers where only 26 percent feel this way and 14 percent don’t know or are not sure. Only 34 percent of middle managers report that men are paid more and only 11 percent don’t know and are not sure. Individual contributors have similar sentiments, with 31 percent reporting that men get paid more but 17 percent reporting they are not sure and don’t know this about their company.
Breakdown by profession
34 percent of Professional Tech women believe their company pays more to men than to women and 50 percent believe men and women are paid equally and only 11 percent do not know or are not sure. At the same time, 20 percent of professional women in other fields (marketing, sales, finance, operations, etc.) report that their company pays men more than women and 15 percent don’t know or are not sure.
A very disturbing finding is the position of our HR professionals. 41 percent report that men are paid more than women and 13 percent don’t know. We would hope that HR professionals know more than others about pay and their reporting inequality is concerning. We also believe that they might be feeling and reporting this about their own profession where they believe that men are paid more than women in HR.
Breakdown by age group
Younger age groups believe more that their company pays women and men equally. 53 percent of women aged 26-34 are reporting equal pay while only 28 percent are reporting that men are paid more and 12 percent are not sure or don’t know. Among the older age group of 45-54, 35 percent report that men are paid more than women, 10 percent are not sure or don’t know, and only 47 percent report equality. The oldest age group in the sample of professional women 54 and older are reporting only 41 percent equality and 29 percent men paid more than women and a very high percentage (19 percent) say they don’t know or are not sure. Overall, younger women believe there’s more pay equity than older women.
Were you promoted in pay, benefits, or position in the past year?
Breakdown by company size
64 percent of women received a promotion in pay, benefits or position over the last year. Women at medium-sized companies were more likely to receive a promotion (66 percent) than women at large companies (63 percent) or women at small companies (60 percent).
Breakdown by role
Nearly three-quarters of middle managers received a promotion in position, pay or benefits (71 percent), compared to 67 percent of senior managers or 54 percent of individual contributors.
Breakdown by profession
Women in technical positions received a promotion well above the average, 72 percent compared to 64 percent. Promotions in HR were slightly below average at 61 percent, and 11 percent less than women in tech.
Breakdown by age group
Younger women in the workforce 25-34 were more likely to receive a promotion in pay, benefits or position than any other group (69 percent). This is slightly more than women 35-44. Women 45-54 received promotions less than average (59 percent compared to 64 percent), while women over 54 were much less likely to receive a promotion (48 percent).
Promotions and women in leadership
Do you feel women are promoted equally compared to men within your company?
Breakdown by company size
53 percent of all respondents feel that women are equally promoted. This was highest at small companies (56 percent), closely followed by medium-sized companies (55 percent), and large companies (50 percent). 16 percent of women at large companies feel that women are promoted more often or quicker than men, followed by 14 percent at small companies, and 9 percent at medium companies.
Breakdown by role
When looking at equality of promotions by the respondent’s role in the company, 21 percent of senior managers (senior director, VP, or executive) believe that women are promoted more often or quicker than men, compared to 13 percent of middle managers (directors, team leads) and 9 percent of individual contributors.
The position of women senior managers may give them a unique perspective that produced some unexpected results. While “only” 52 percent feel that men and women are promoted equally, 27 percent believe that men are promoted more often or quicker.
Breakdown by profession
When considering the profession of the respondents, the results regarding promotions were fairly similar. Slightly more than half of tech and HR women feel that men and women are promoted equally. It is interesting to note that 16 percent of HR women believe that women are promoted more often or quicker than men, compared to 13 percent of tech women or of all respondents. But both groups still felt that men were promoted more often by a margin of more than 2:1.
Breakdown by age group
57 percent of women aged 35 – 44 believe that men and women are promoted equally. This is more than any other age group. This is slightly more than ages 25-34 (54 percent) and women older than 54 (51 percent), but 11 percent more than the 45-54 age group (46 percent).
Work-life balance and confidence
Do you expect your work-life balance to improve in 2022?
Breakdown by company size
42 percent of people working at medium sized companies (100-99) expect their work-life balance to improve in 2022. This is higher than women at large companies (32 percent) or small companies (38 percent). The percentage of respondents who believe that their work-life balance will get worse is very similar across companies of all sizes (26-27 percent). At large companies, many more women expect their work-life balance to remain the same (35 percent) compared to those at medium sized (26 percent) or small companies (26 percent).
Breakdown by role
41 percent of senior managers expect their work-life balance to improve in 2022 followed by 39 percent for middle managers and 35 percent for individual contributors. More senior managers expected their work-life balance to get better (41 percent) than get worse (33 percent). However, more middle managers expected their work-life balance to get worse than better (43 percent vs. 39 percent) as did a significantly larger portion of individual contributors (45 percent vs. 35 percent).
Breakdown by profession
43 percent of HR women professionals expect their work-life balance to improve in 2022. This is higher than the total response (38 percent) and significantly more than women in tech (31percent). Significantly more women in technical positions expect their work-life balance to get worse (47 percent) than better (31percent).
Breakdown by age
Younger women are more optimistic about work-life balance in 2022 than older women. 42 percent of women 25-34 feel it will improve, closely followed by women 35-44 at 41 percent. Only 30 percent of women 45-54 feel their work-life balance will improve, as do just 28 percent of women over 54. Women over 54 are the most pessimistic about work-life balance with 52 percent believing it will be worse.
Do you feel confident in your performance?
Feeling confident in your performance means you feel productive, you are aware of your value to your team and your company’s success. We wanted to know if US professional women feel confident and who are those that feel more confident than others. Overall 78 percent of women professionals report that they are confident in their performance!
Breakdown by company size
In the US, 78 percent of professional women overall feel confident in their performance, women working at mid sized companies feel even more confident with a confidence rating of 81 percent. Similarly, 22 percent of the overall respondents said they do not feel confident in their performance and only 19 percent of women working at mid-sized companies.
Breakdown by role
The surprising insight from this breakdown is that while 80 percent of individual contributors and 81 percent of middle managers are feeling confident in their performance, only 64 percent of senior managers are. This eludes the harshness of being a senior woman leader and what a huge effort it is to feel you are equal and as good in your performance as a senior leader.
Breakdown by profession
The insight from this breakdown is that 87 percent of women in tech professions feel confident in their performance and only 10 percent do not feel confident, while in all other professions only 77 percent feel confident and 16 percent report they are not confident. The less confident professionals are HR professionals; only 69 percent of them report confidence in their performance, which is much lower than the overall 78 percent confidence. In addition they report a much higher not confident answer of 21 percent vs. the 15 percent overall. HR professionals need objective metrics and KPIs to measure their performance because many feel insecure in their performance.
Breakdown by age
The age group breakdown is an eye opener! It is clear that the younger women are much more confident in their performance than the older groups. Directly diminishing confidence is reported. While 80 percent of women in the age groups of 25-44 are reporting confidence in their performance this number goes down to 76 percent for the 45-54 age group and 66 percent for the 54+ age group. The older the professional, the less confident in her performance.
Similarly, when examining the “not confident” reporting, 12 percent of 25-34, 14 percent of 35-44, 19 percent of 45-54, and 25 percent of 54+ report that they do not feel confident in their performance. This shows how much women have changed and how the young generations are so much more confident they are than older generations.
The Great Resignation
Did you leave your job in 2021?
Breakdown by company size
27 percent of professional women replied that they changed jobs in 2021. 15 percent quit while 12 percent were fired. More women at small companies (1-99) changed jobs in 2021 (29 percent) compared to women at medium companies (27 percent) or large companies (24 percent). In 2022, only 13 percent of respondents expect to change jobs. Women at medium sized companies are slightly more likely to change jobs (14 percent) compared to women at small companies (13 percent) or women at large companies (12 percent).
Breakdown by role
Women professionals are part of the great resignation of 2021. Overall 27 percent of women professionals changed jobs in 2021 of which 15 percent quit and 12 percent were fired however only 24 percent of individual contributors did (14 percent quit and 10 percent were fired). Similarly, 25 percent of middle managers changed jobs in 2021, where 14 percent quit their job and 11 percent were fired.
The great resignation is strongest amongst senior leaders, 38 percent changed jobs in 2021, of them, 20 percent quit their jobs and 18 percent were fired.
Is the great resignation slowing down? Overall 13 percent report that they will be leaving their jobs in 2022. Broken down by role only 12 percent of individual contributors and middle managers are reporting they will leave and 16 percent of senior managers.
When a manager leaves, a whole team needs to adjust to a new manager, and new managers are hard to find. It is highly recommended for companies to identify those managers that have a high attrition risk and attempt to retain them.
Breakdown by profession
Overall, 27 percent of women professionals changed jobs in 2021, this represents women in all professions. 33 percent Women tech professionals (developers and engineers) left their jobs where 23 percent quit their jobs and 10 percent were fired while only 7 percent plan to leave their jobs in 2022, this shows they have realigned and found a better place.
Only 24 percent of HR professionals left their jobs in 2021, where 11 percent quit and 13 percent were fired and only 9 percent are planning to leave in 2022. Overall HR professionals prefer to stay with the company they chose showing their engagement and loyalty to their company.
Breakdown by age group
Reviewing the women who changed jobs in 2021 it is evident there is no significant difference between younger and older. However, the group of women who quit their job were 16 percent 25-34, 12 percent 35-44, 11 percent 45-54,and 12 percent 54+, showing that more younger women quit and more of the older generation was let go .
What would entice you to take a new job with a new employer?
Breakdown by company size
While increase in pay is definitely the most popular answer for moving to a new employer, it decreases in importance for women working in mid-sized and smaller companies.
In the opposite direction, women working at larger companies are reporting the importance of a strong and healthy company culture—34 percent mentioned by women in smaller companies, 40 percent mentioned by women in mid-sized companies and 42 percent mentioned by women in larger companies.
Same direction is highlighted on the issue of “company values consistent with my personal values.” This again is important to 32 percent overall, 25 percent to those at smaller companies, 31percent for those at mid-sized companies and 39 percent! For those at large companies. This shows that company values are a sure way to attract women talent to smaller companies.
Breakdown by role
Enticing a woman professional for a new role includes the expectation of workplace flexibility 52 percent. This is highlighted with individual contributors 58 percent and less important to middle managers 49 percent and senior managers 42 percent. Overall, workplace flexibility is a must.
Breakdown by profession
There are differences between women’s professions about enticement. While overall, 66 percent expect to get higher pay when they switch jobs, 71 percent of tech professionals are expecting this, and 63 percent of HR professionals.
On the topic of “clear path to promotion” overall this is mentioned 31 percent of the time but 38 percent of tech professionals expect this and 32 percent of HR professionals.
Breakdown by age
Flexible work is a clear requirement for women of all ages but it is even more important as women are younger. Overall, 52 percent said flex work is enticing to them but only 46 percent of 54+ mentioned this, and then, 50 percent of 45-54, 53 percent of 35-44 and 54 percent of 25-34. All in all, it shows how important flex work is to women.
Does your company offer, or have they expanded, women-specific benefits?
Breakdown by company size
Overall 69 percent of women report that their company offers women specific benefits. This includes paternity leave at 33 percent, extended paid maternity leave, breastfeeding space, and more. Large and Midsize companies offer several benefits. Smaller companies offer less. Women specific benefits are extremely important to help women advance in their careers.
Breakdown by role
Overall, 43 percent of individual contributors are reporting that their company does not offer women specific benefits and only 37 percent of middle managers and 29 percent of senior managers. This leads us to believe that women specific benefits are offered as part of a compensation package for managers and less for individual contributors.
Breakdown by profession
Overall, only 26 percent report that their company does not offer women specific benefits but only 15 percent of women tech professionals report this, 17 percent of HR professionals, and 29 percent of all other professions. This means that women specific benefits are very much a part of the benefits women in tech are expecting and receiving.
Breakdown by age
Overall 26 percent of women reported that their company does not offer women specific benefits. However, this is not experienced by all age groups the same way. Only 21 percent of 25-34-year-olds report this and 27 percent of 35-44-year-olds, 29 percent of 45-54-year-olds, 33 percent of 54+-year-olds.
Where do you experience your company’s attitude towards women?
Breakdown by company size
The Top three areas that women experience the company’s attitude towards women are the actual visibility of women at the company, the company’s culture and the company’s value. Benefits for women are listed as number four. This is consistent across all company sizes.
Overall, 26 percent claim that they don’t experience a particular attitude towards women in the company and that it goes up to 28 percent at larger companies, down to 24 percent at medium-sized companies and up to 27 percent at small companies.
Breakdown by role
Individual contributors more than middle managers and senior managers claim that they don’t experience a particular attitude towards women in their company. This correlates with the answers to the fact that they receive less women-specific benefits.
Breakdown by profession
Breakdown by age group
Has a colleague ever made you feel uncomfortable or less qualified in the workplace because you are a woman?
The data is displayed to show all of the groups we analyzed. Overall 35 percent of professional women in the US have been made to feel uncomfortable or less qualified in the workplace because they were women. This is an excellent result vs. other places in the world. However, this is a situation we need to eliminate.
Important to highlight – 49 percent of senior women managers more than any other group have been made to feel uncomfortable. On the other hand, only 26 percent of women who are 54 and older report that they have ever been made to feel uncomfortable. 47 percent of women in tech positions have been made to feel uncomfortable vs. only 33 percent of all other professionals. There are areas where colleagues create this atmosphere more.
Summary
International Women’s Day is a time to celebrate women’s professional achievements and gauge how far companies need to go to achieve true and lasting gender equity and equality. So much progress has been made in the US workplace in recent years.
The pandemic catalyzed the need for companies to be more flexible and accommodating for people in general and women in particular. Women have thrived professionally, and equal pay and promotion will clear the way for additional gains for women in leadership roles and career success.
There are areas that need to be addressed to help women thrive and bring their full potential to work.