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Women in the Workplace 2022

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The 2022 Women in the Workplace report was released in mid-October and many of us have seen the big findings from the report hitting the headlines. While the talent pipeline has been suffering from a “broken rung” for a while, and the representation of women took a hit during the pandemic as women left the workforce, we’re now seeing more senior-level women leave their current organizations for companies that are more supportive.

When they leave, they take not only their talent but also much of the drive and effort behind creating those supportive work environments which are also increasingly more important to younger talent.

What do we do about it? My short answer is, let’s structure our organizations in a way that empowers managers to make a difference. Let’s set our managers up for success so they can set their direct reports up for success.

Forget Quiet Quitting: Advocate Loudly for Lasting Change

For some of us, the thought of quiet quitting sounds like a far away, unattainable dream. For others, the idea of quiet quitting being a viral sensation causes us to roll our eyes and ask the question (which many others are also asking), ”Isn’t ‘quiet quitting’ just called ‘working’?” Where you fall on this spectrum depends on two main variables: your personal ability to set and maintain boundaries, and the culture on your team at work.

Women’s Equality Day and the Equal Rights Amendment

August 26th is Women’s Equality Day. The day marks the anniversary of the 1920 passing of the 19th amendment which granted women the right to vote. The date was officially marked as Women’s Equality Day by Congress in 1971. In 2022, this day comes on the heels of a lot of conversation around Constitutional rights for women following the reversal of Roe v. Wade. That conversation has me thinking a lot about two things—The Equal Rights Amendment and the importance of voting.

Case Study: Navigating Burnout with VMware's CodeHouse

In addition to working with VMware’s Women Connecting Women over the years, this summer we were also invited to deliver short programs on Navigating Burnout to VMware’s CodeHouse participants.

CodeHouse is a three-day technical experience for students. The Atlanta session was targeted at undergraduate Black and Latina women in Computer Science and the Palo Alto session had an audience of graduate-level women in Computer Science.

How Workplaces Feel the Reversal of Roe v. Wade

It’s been a month since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, removing the Constitutional right to abortion. I have started to consider more and more what this means for the women in the workplace and the work we do focused on gender equity at work. I’ve rounded up a few articles and resources that explore what employers need to consider in the post-Roe world.

Identity and Boundaries: A different type of balance for working women without children

In past posts, we’ve explored the unhealthy habits and unrealistic expectations that have led to burnout and women stepping back from the workforce. While we’ve been mindful to note that this applies to working women both with and without kids, we’ll be the first to acknowledge that much of the press we’ve seen in this space has been around working mothers.

In a recent Elle article focused on working women without children, we see the more raw side of the experience of women who have pushed themselves to the brink when it comes to “picking up the slack” where mothers have left the workforce. Countless women share their stories of exhaustion to the point of passing out on video calls, ending up in the hospital, or simply losing any semblance of separation between “work” and “life.”

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#BreakTheBias: Women’s History Month Recap

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As Women’s History Month and the celebration of International Women’s Day comes to a close, we want to take a moment to acknowledge and celebrate the organizations we had the privilege of working with during such a pivotal month for so many companies to drive gender equity action forward.

With this year’s International Women’s Day theme of #BreakTheBias, individuals were called to take action for collective progress. At Gild Collective, we worked with our clients to approach this theme in different ways—providing tools for interrupting bias in big ways within workplaces and small ways within our own interactions.

Understanding the Allyship Gap for Women of Color

In February, we celebrated Black History Month, and in March, we celebrated Women’s History Month. As we come off two months celebrating distinct identities, it is important to take a moment to revisit the experiences of individuals who face double discrimination as a result of intersectional identities. In the 2021 Women in the Workplace report, the trend continues that women of color, and specifically Black women tend to face more microaggressions than white women or an aggregate of all women.

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Transition, Body and Boundaries: A Discussion with Dr. Casen of Drugless Doctors

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After a great conversation with Dr. Casen of Drugless Doctors on burnout in December of 2020, we came together once again to discuss the topic that is top of mind for so many as we head into year 3 of the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing hybrid work—transition, setting boundaries, and creating healthy habits along the way.

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What Effective Inclusion Efforts Look Like

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In our recent posts breaking down the 2021 Women in the Workplace Report we’ve focused both on key findings and recommendations to address burnout through boundary setting. This month we turn our attention to the recommendations focused on advancing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) through intentional training.

The report finds that the overall number of employees receiving training related to DEI is increasing, but there are key steps to take to ensure that training is actionable in order to drive change and increase inclusion within the organization.

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Critical Boundary Setting: Organizations, Managers, Individuals

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“As companies embrace flexibility, they also need to set clear boundaries”

The 2021 Women in the Workplace report summarizes this key recommendation so clearly. Pre-pandemic, boundaries were important, but to an extent some of them were ‘built in’ to our daily lives—the commute to the office, closing up the computer at the end of the workday, a peek at email on your phone but a response saved for tomorrow.

With all of the changes COVID-19 has brought, burnout is one that we have talked about extensively in the past two years. As we face yet another period of transition (back to the office, no wait—back to remote) it is a critical time to revisit the boundaries that organizations can set to create a sustainable flexible workforce that can readily adapt to the seemingly endless change and uncertainty.