Women's History Month: How are women faring in the workplace?

FRIDAY. WE WRAP IT UP WITH QUIET CONDITIONS, BRIEF PERIOD OF HEAVY RAIN AND MOREOVER SUNDAY. TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH AND A BIG PART OF THAT HISTORY INCLUDES GAINING THE RIGHT TO WORK. THERE HAS BEEN SIGNIFICANT STRIDES MADE SINCE WOMEN FIRST ENTERED THE WORKFORCE, BUT THERE IS STILL MUCH MORE TO ACCOMPLISH. A CAREER COACH , LIZ BENTLEY, AND PROGRESS AND WHAT MORE STILL NEEDS TO BE DONE. LIZ, GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING, MARY. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE MAJOR MILESTONES FOR WOMEN, WOMEN ARE UNDERREPRESENTED AT ALL LEVELS, CORRECT?

YES, THERE ARE A LOT OF TERRITORIES FOR WOMEN TO ADVANCE AND COVER. WOMEN ARE UNDERREPRESENTED AT ALL THE LEVELS ONCE WE GET PAST THE ENTRY LEVEL. AS WE MOVE UP THE PIPELINE ON THE LATTER, IT GETS WORSE. WHEN MEN ARE 73% TO SUITE, IT IS ONE WOMAN FOR EVERY FOUR CO. MAN. FOR WOMEN OF COLOR, IT IS ONE TO 16, EVEN WORSE. ONLY 10% OF THE WOMEN ARE REPRESENTED IN FORTUNE 500 CEOs. ACCORDING TO DATA, WOMEN ARE MORE AMBITIOUS THAN BEFORE THE PANDEMIC. WHAT IS DRIVING THAT AMBITION? THE PANDEMIC WAS ACTUALLY A POSITIVE FOR WOMEN

IN THEIR CAREERS. THE FLEXIBILITY THEY GOT, THE HYBRID WORK MODELS, AND THE FLEXIBILITIES, I CAN’T STRESS ENOUGH, IT REALLY HELPED WOMEN. THE RESEARCH SHOWS THAT WOMEN ARE AS

AMBITIOUS AS MEN IN ASKING FOR PROMOTIONS AT THE AT WOMEN 30 AND YOUNGER, 9 OUT OF 10 WOMEN ARE LOOKING FOR A PROMOTION AND ALSO, WOMEN CITE THE TOP THREE THINGS THEY ARE LOOKING FOR IN A CAREER IS PAY, ONE OF THE TOP THREE PRIORITIES. ANOTHER THING THAT CAME FROM THE PANDEMIC THAT WAS GREAT FOR WOMEN IS THAT THEY REALLY LEANED INTO THEIR PERSONAL LIVES, THEY ARE INVESTING

IN THEIR PERSONAL LIVES AS MUCH AS MEN. IT USED TO BE BELIEVED THAT THE BIGGEST HURDLE FOR WOMEN WAS THE GLASS CEILING BUT IT IS ACTUALLY CALLED THE BROKEN WRONG. EXPLAIN THAT AND WHAT IT IS. WHAT CONTRIBUTES TO THIS? LET’S BE CLEAR. THE GLASS CEILING IS STILL A CHALLENGE. IT IS STILL VERY HARD FOR WOMEN TO GET TO THE TOP AND NAVIGATE IT ONCE THEY ARE THERE. WHAT THEY UNCOVERED THROUGH THE RESEARCH IS WHERE IT STARTS IS THIS CONCEPT CALLED THE BROKEN RUNG. AT THE ENTRY LEVEL, WOMEN AND MEN ENTER THE WORKFORCE AT ALMOST THE

SAME RATE. WOMEN ARE 40% TO MEN’S BRACKETS 2% BUT THAT VERY FIRST PROMOTION FROM ENTRY TO MANAGER LEVEL, WOMEN FALL WAY OFF. FOR EVERY 100 MEN THAT GETS ON IT, ONLY 87 WOMEN GET PROMOTED AND FOR THE GAP STARTS RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING. WHAT ABOUT SOME STRATEGIES TO GET WOMEN IN THE POSITION FOR SUCCESS? WHAT ARE SOME THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND? OKAY. FOR WOMEN TO REALLY TAKE ADVANTAGE AND REALLY PUSH THEMSELVES TO THE NEXT LEVEL, I LIKE TO QUOTE BILLIE JEAN KING, AN ICONIC WOMAN, WHO SAYS FOLLOW THE MONEY. WOMEN, PAY ATTENTION TO THE

MONEY. GET INTO CAREERS WHERE YOU HAVE A LOT OF UPSIDE IN MAKING MONEY AS YOU RISE IN YOUR CAREER. PICK MAJORS THAT WILL LEAD YOU INTO CAREERS THAT WILL MAKE YOU GOOD MONEY. NEGOTIATE FOR HIGHER SALARIES. LEAVES JOBS THAT ARE NOT PAYING YOU THE LEVEL YOU DESERVE TO BE PAID. KEEP A GREAT NETWORK OF PEOPLE SO YOU CAN NAVIGATE YOUR CAREER AND GET GOOD INFORMATION AND MAKE CHANGE WHEN YOU NEED TO MAKE CHANGE AND ALSO, VERY RUNG. PART OF THE PROBLEM WE SEE IN THIS BROKEN RUNG IS THAT MEN GET PROMOTED ON POTENTIAL AND WOMEN

ARE ONLY GETTING PROMOTED ON PERFORMANCE. THAT IS A BIG SHIFT WE REALLY NEED TO SEE. AT THE ENTRY LEVEL, WOMEN HAVE NOT HAD ENOUGH TIME REALLY HAVE LEADERS THAT NEED TO SHIFT THEIR THINKING AND PROMOTE WOMEN ON POTENTIAL.