A study has found that workplace culture, rather than personal issues such as caring responsibilities or menopause, is the main reason professional women leave their jobs. The report by gender balance specialists Encompass Equality polled 3,916 female professionals and found that the top factors influencing women to stay or leave an organization relate to workplace culture, day-to-day work, support from line managers, organizational culture, prospects for career progression, and the amount of work.
A large majority (85%) said the day-to-day work itself had a “huge” or “significant” impact on their decision whether to stay or leave their employer. A slightly smaller proportion (82%) said the support they got from their line manager had this impact, followed by the prospects for career progression (70%) and organizational culture (65%). Almost a third of women (31%) claimed to be overworking by at least 10 hours a week. More than a third of women (38%) were likely to leave their employers over the next two years, a proportion that rose to 49% among Black women.
Meanwhile, research from gender equality initiative The Next 100 Years project found that only 45% of female legal professionals feel that measures being taken by their employers are effective in removing barriers to their progress.
Often conversations about staffing lead to hiring. But hiring is only a portion of dealing with staff. You have to retain them too. This broad market data shows that retention is done by solving these core problems in an industry still struggling with diversity.
The parallels to the legal industry continue today, and that’s insightful too. I will continue to echo Peter Kujawa’s premise from our interview – managers and leaders are college coaches, guiding from recruiting, play, and planning for a departure too. Just make sure you’re not losing them due to culture.