Although women have made significant progress lately, they now find that their path up the profession ladder remains to be held back by a clearly visible “glass ceiling,” a brand new study by LinkedIn shows.
The social media platform found that the proportion of ladies hired into senior roles within the UK increased from 31.6% in 2016 to 37.8% in 2022.
However, this upward trend has come to a halt within the last two years. In 2024, the proportion of ladies in management positions has fallen to 37.1%.
Ireland is the one European country analyzed by LinkedIn where this proportion has increased up to now yr. However, the worldwide trend has been declining lately.
This would imply that the straightforward wins for diversity within the workplace have already been achieved and that equality requires either only marginal progress or a full-scale revolution within the workplace. This also underscores the cruel reality that ladies face in times of economic recession.
“LinkedIn’s data shows that the limited progress made in recent years in advancing women into leadership roles is being erased as women pay the price of a slowing economy,” said Sue Duke, vice chairman of world public policy and economic charts at LinkedIn.
“The result? The proportion of women in management positions has increased by less than 1 percent in six years.”
There are also longer-term obstacles that hinder a lady’s profession advancement. The major reason behind that is care while pregnant.
These barriers have proven difficult to completely eliminate. In fact, they’re so pervasive that Gen Z women are unlikely to shut the gender pay gap by the point they retire.
“For a 21-year-old woman entering the workforce today, gender pay equality remains out of reach and analysis suggests it will take over 45 years to close the UK gender pay gap,” wrote the authors of a PwC report on the pay gap published in June.
AI transformation
However, data from LinkedIn suggests there may be hope for girls within the AI revolution – an optimistic view of a technology that is usually accompanied by doomsday predictions.
The platform predicts that the everyday skills required for jobs world wide will change by 68% by 2030 in comparison with today.
According to the report’s authors, the soft, interpersonal qualities of those skills, similar to leadership and cohesion, are predominantly present in women. On LinkedIn, women have a 28% higher share of sentimental skills than men.
While the prospect of AI impacting gender dynamics is positive, women must be wary of negative impacts. LinkedIn’s Duke points out that men make up the vast majority of AI talent. Studies have shown that ladies are also more in danger from the technology than men.
“Opportunities for women to advance in their careers will disappear if employers do not consider gender in training to ensure that the workplace changes in a fair and equitable way.”
further reading
PwC study finds British Generation Z women unlikely to shut gender pay gap before retirement
Only 5% of a very powerful skills applicants need today might be the identical in three years, says McKinsey: “Companies will not find perfect unicorns”
Single women are struggling to make ends meet: the wage gap and inflation make it difficult for them to accumulate assets or a nest egg
