Is your company a great place for women to work? Everyone hopes so – but it’s not always the case. Today’s workforce provides more opportunities than ever for women, even as they continue to face significant challenges to achieving their goals. Here are three key topics defining the experience of women in senior care and across the workforce today.

 

Skewed Perceptions of Women in Healthcare

According to the World Health Organization, women make up 67% of the global health and social care workforce, but men are estimated to hold 75% of leadership roles. Women represent 90% of home-based care workers, 78% of nursing associate professionals, and 77% of senior care managers. Healthcare itself, particularly frontline care and senior care, are often viewed as a “feminine” profession – and yet, women struggle to get past entry-level roles. 

At the same time, women report spending 18% of their time on unpaid care work (as in, care for their own family members), further hindering their ability to advance in the workforce. Men, meanwhile, say they only spend about 5% of their time on unpaid care.

How can we respond? It sounds simple, but it’s also true: offer the support necessary for women to grow their careers. That might mean improving shift coverage options, offering childcare subsidies, or offering improved health coverage (including mental health). 

Overcoming Gendered Bias

 

Although significant progress has been made, women in the workforce still faces a number of barriers to advancing their careers. Many of these come down to biases that the culprits may not even realize they have – but they’re affecting women all the same. The Harvard Business Review found the following:

  • Women are more likely than men to be questioned on their judgement or qualifications.
  • Women are nearly twice as likely as their male colleagues to be mistaken for someone more junior.
  • 37% of women in leadership say others have taken credit for their ideas, versus just 27% of men.
  • Women are more likely to report that qualities such as gender or parenthood have contributed to their lack of advancement.
  • Women are less likely than men to start out in line roles, which have, on average, 20% higher lifetime earnings than support roles.

As many organizations roll back initiatives designed to directly address these disparities, it’s up to leadership to step up. Evaluate blind spots and look for ways to address them. Consider how policies might have a disparate impact, and work to find more fair solutions. Most of all, show women that they’re valued by leading by example and halting biased behaviors when they occur.

 

The Flexibility Paradox

Flexibility tops the wish list for many women in the workforce, but they often struggle with actually using those benefits, even when they do exist. CNBC’s annual Women at Work survey found that 40% of women admit being concerned to use flexible benefits like paid leave, work-from-home or flex time, fearing it could interfere with their career goals. For largely in-person fields like healthcare, employees may stress even more about taking time for themselves, worrying that it will put undue strain on their colleagues. 

The same survey highlights women’s overall ambition in the workforce. 87% describe themselves as ambitious, while 48% say they’re “very” ambitious. That collision of desiring flexibility and balance but fearing a loss of progress is a paradox that today’s organizations must address if they want to hire and retain high-performing women. 

The solutions aren’t that different from the solutions to women’s lack of career advancement in general. Ensure your workplace culture is built around a mindset of balance, teamwork, and support. Support staff and care workers need to be able to take care of themselves in order to provide the best possible support to colleagues or care for clients. Communicate that using their benefits won’t hurt their careers – then follow it up with real actions that align with those words.

At Aspen, we know firsthand that happy, valued employees are the ones who are best positioned to drive success and provide exceptional standards of care and support. Talk to us for more insights on building a talent strategy that ensures all feel truly welcome – and that your culture is one designed to support everyone’s success and growth.