Here, a survey of 1,424 women in the workplace is analysed to find that over half of the respondents feel empowered
It’s not a great time to be a woman in the workplace according to headline news. In the last month, The Independent announced almost half of female managers say their workplace is sexist. Yahoo! Finance declared 75% of women in the UK workplace fear being exposed as career frauds and The Mirror reported women get £434-a-month less than men in retirement.
What’s the overall picture?
- 77% of women say their manager helps them to balance work and personal demands
- Over half of women feel empowered at work; 54% agree they are paid fairly
- 59% of women are offered training in their place of work
- 69% of women say they have been addressed in a less than professional way when at work
- 77% of women feel they have had to prove their ability in the workplace
- 65% of women feel they have had their work contributions ignored
Yet, a new survey* conducted by theknowledgeacademy.com has found, while there is battles to be won for women in the workplace, a large majority of ladies do feel empowered, well-managed and fairly treated in their roles.
In fact, just over half of women (52%) surveyed said they feel empowered at work and 54% agree they are paid fairly.
When it comes to advancement in the workplace, The Knowledge Academy learned 59% of respondents are offered training in their place of work, while a further 65% are encouraged to attend training of any kind.
There was a positive response to questions on management too. 69% of women surveyed said their manager does provide the resources needed to succeed and an even greater 77% said their manager helps them to balance their work and personal demands.
Over half (54%) of respondents added their manager creates opportunities for them to showcase their work, while 77% believe their manager promotes their contributions to others.
However, though the majority of the feedback from their survey ‘Women in the Workplace 2019’ is encouraging, The Knowledge Academy found there are still challenges to overcome in certain areas.
For example:
• 69% of women feel they have had their judgement questioned in their area of expertise.
• 77% of women feel they have had to prove their ability in the workplace more than others.
• 65% of women say they have been addressed in a less than professional way when at work.
• 65% of women feel they have had their work contributions ignored.
To extend their research, The Knowledge Academy also spoke exclusively with a handful of women in the workplace, to better understand their personal experiences.
Alice Coleman, 27, Marketing Officer at Aston University, said:
“I didn’t find any difficulties finding work in my local region – I think most organisations consider equality and diversity when employing people now.
“In my department, there are more women than men, my manager is a woman, and also the head of the department is a woman, which is really encouraging. However, when liaising with other departments, I feel like as a woman – particularly under the age of 30 – it can be difficult to be listened to, or almost ‘taken seriously’.
“During equality and diversity training at my workplace, it was noted that there aren’t many women in managerial positions. Although we’ve made progress, I still think there’s a long way to go in making sure that attitudes towards women are the same as men in the workplace.”
Emily Garner, 23, Content Specialist at Blueclaw, said:
“I think one of the main things that attracted me to digital marketing was workplace diversity, as I know many amazing women who hold prestigious positions within digital agencies, including our own.
“I do feel, during my initial job search, I was overlooked in favour of more experienced and primarily male candidates. But in my current role, I wouldn’t say I’ve been held back by my gender.
“However, I can’t help but think that I’d be more comfortable being assertive and taking control in any scenario, both business and personal, was I a man.”
*The Knowledge Academy surveyed 1,424 women, of all ages and industries, to find out how they feel about being a woman in the workplace in 2019.
