The newest report released by Catalyst, titled The Myth of the Ideal Worker: Does Doing All the Right Things Really Get Women Ahead?, has been released… and it’s disheartening.
The goal of the report was to research typical myths involving women’s career development and their chances of being promoted. As a woman who generally feels empowered and that I am capable of doing anything I put my mind to, the statistics shared in this report, well, downright anger me.
For example, one of the findings is that just being proactive is not enough to propel a women’s career, but it is enough to do the same thing for a man. It’s just ludicrous that women can be just as proactive as a man – and honestly, I feel we can be even more proactive, as biologically we are wired to think past the present – and not be given the same opportunities as our male counterparts.
For women, don’t even think about hopping jobs to increase your compensation and advancement opportunities. Among a group the report refers to as “Job Hoppers”, or those who seek advancement opportunities outside their current company, the average salary growth was $53,472 less than those women who stayed with their first employer. Though, it’s quite the opposite for men. Men who left their first employer earn, on average, $13,743 more than those who stayed with their first employer.
Am I the only one who thinks this is crazy? Advancement opportunities should be based on the same merits, regardless of gender. I do hope you will check out the report, as it also provides additional information on myths I haven’t touched on, but are still very interesting and eye-opening.
Have you experienced any of this first hand? Do you feel the findings of this report are accurate, or do you feel differently? I would love to hear some additional views on this – please share with me and leave your comments below.
Hilary Brooks
Hilary Brooks is President, CEO of A Virtual Edge, a full-service virtual assistant company, and Owner of freelance web design company Small Biz Web Whiz. Hilary and her team offer a wide variety of services to busy entrepreneurs, speakers, coaches, and bloggers, providing the office and creative support they need to succeed without all the hassles of hiring a traditional employee.
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During my corporate stint, I was a job hopper. A few times it brought me significant financial gains, but overall, it wasn’t as useful a strategy as I would have hoped. Occasionally, I made significant gains, but having to figure out a different culture every time cost me. And I kept winding up in lower-level management–a very bad fit for a problem solver, strategist, a person who speaks her mind.
The 2010 elections dropped the number of women in Congress for the first time in decades. We have less representation than China. Is it any wonder corporations are no different?
It’s time for a new model. Let’s stop trying to be men and figure out a new way to get our share of the sky.