Women still decades away from reaching equality in the workplace, report says

Women have made progress climbing the corporate ladder over the last decade, but that progress is at risk of declining and is overshadowed by widespread harassment, a new report says.

The annual Women in the Workplace report is produced by the consulting firm McKinsey & Company in partnership with advocacy group LeanIn.

Although women now make up 29% of senior-level positions in corporate America compared to 17% in 2015, the report said we are still nearly 50 years away from all women reaching equality in the workplace at the current rate of progress.

Companies are investing fewer resources in women’s advancement, and women continue to experience the "broken rung," described as a phenomenon in which entry-level men are promoted to manager at much higher rates than women. This statistic is even lower for women of color.

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The report said that despite an increase in women's representation, the workplace has not gotten better for women — which the report said was the area of least progress over the last decade.

Women continue to see their gender and race as barriers to advancement, with 1 in 4 women stating their gender will make it harder, and 1 in 3 say it has already contributed to missed opportunities.

Furthermore, sexual harassment in the workplace towards women is just as prevalent in the workplace today as it was five years ago, the report said.

Women are more likely to have their competence challenged or undermined at work than men as well as have their leadership potential questioned, the report stated, despite having just as much ambition as men.

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The report did highlight some positive changes, such as companies now offering more significant work-life benefits for employees including more parental leave and caregiver leave.

Companies have also expanded workplace flexibility, adding more remote or hybrid roles that align with greater productivity and less burnout, the report said.

The Women in the Workplace study is based on data from 1,000 companies in the U.S. and Canada along with survey responses from over 480,000 people obtained over a 10-year period.