NEW YORK – Despite holding 47% of all jobs, women account for fewer than one-third of American CEOs, reports Fortune in announcing the 2017 Best Workplaces for Women by Great Places to Work.
According to the news source, “The view from the top can overlook an equally severe threat to the management pipeline: How women and men experience the workplace differently as they climb the corporate ladder.”
In researching the Best Workplaces for Women, Great Places to Work uncovered important gaps in how women and men feel about their careers.
Fortune writes that what makes a great workplace for women is not what many companies seem to assume. For one, efforts to promote gender equity often focus disproportionately on working mothers. While benefits like family leave and flexible scheduling are important, parents with young children represent only a portion of the female workforce.
Great Place to Work research found that “women employees’ perception of work-life balance actually had a limited effect on their intent to stay with their companies for the long haul. By contrast, women who said they’re treated as full team members regardless of position were five times more likely to plan long-term careers at their businesses, compared to colleagues who didn’t feel this way. Likewise, women who said they make a difference at their company were 27 times more likely to say it’s also a great place to work.”
Fortune adds that professional development is another important investment. For example, the No. 1 company on the list, Texas Health Resources, helps employees build their academic credentials from the GED through graduate coursework.
“It turns out that exceptional work cultures for women also produce outstanding workplaces for all employees,” said Chinwe Onyeagoro, the president of Great Place to Work. “Companies that lead in this way—by emphasizing the daily engagement and long-term buy-in of women—will see better performance from their teams and a stronger slate of leaders to helm their organizations in the future.”
Frequent Great Place to Work recipients QuikTrip and Sheetz ranked No. 54 and No. 79, respectively, with Mars coming in at No. 68.
See the full 100 Best Workplaces for Women 2017 list.