Men’s and women’s leadership opportunities begin to diverge even before motherhood, LinkedIn VP says

According to LinkedIn figures, in America, women accounted for 41.4% of management hires in 2022. That number dropped to 40.6% in 2023 and continued to decline to 40.1% by this year.

Also in the UK, the share of women employed in leadership roles has fallen to 37.1% this year from 37.8% in 2022 – and the same downward trend is happening in France, the Netherlands and Germany, LinkedIn warns .

“After we peaked around 2022, when we had the hiring frenzy that was so strongly associated with Covid, what we’ve seen since then is that the share of women employed in senior management roles globally has not only stagnated, but has come back,” says Sue Duke, vice president of global public policy at LinkedIn.

Women who settle down and have children are often blamed as the reason they are left out of these top jobs, ultimately leading to the prevailing gender pay gap. But in fact, she says, the dropout rate can be seen even before women enter motherhood.

“It’s happening sooner,” says Duke.

“One great thing about the data we have is that we can pinpoint exactly where men’s and women’s careers start to diverge, and what we see very clearly is that the first point of significant divergence is at that pre-manager level.”

Essentially, the problems start before men and women in their twenties even get into management: that’s when you start to see a decline in the number of senior female contributors being promoted or hired into roles that would lead to management – and it took place. a ripple effect on the number of women available to move up the ranks.

“If we have a 9% drop at that stage, what we see then is this pinching and pinching, this decreasing seniority all the way down, resulting in by the time we get to the C Suite, we only have one in four women leader. at that level,” adds Duke.

“Making sure we target our interventions at that level of pre-manager, senior individual taxpayer, but not yet a manager, will make a big difference.”

Why a lack of mentoring could be to blame

So why are women failing to make that leap into management – ​​and then into middle management and executive roles?

“I’m not making that leap, for a couple of reasons,” Duke replies. “One is what we’re seeing is the absence of that mentorship, the absence of that alliance, the absence of investment in women and their confidence level, their skills to make sure they can apply and get that manager role. . We miss that.”

Not only does mentoring give women the confidence to apply for that step into leadership, but it also forces people in positions of power to connect with their female subordinates.

Despite rising through the LinkedIn ranks and having previous stints at Google and in government, Duke says he could have used help navigating the career ladder sooner.

“You’re trying to get used to this new world and figure out how to apply your skills, etc. To have someone early in those phases, it’s something I wish I had done sooner.”

“One piece of advice I would give especially to women and women starting out in their careers is the importance of mentorship, the importance of alliance,” she adds.

“Go out, find someone you have that connection with — who has experience and a skill set you can use — and get that as early as possible.”

What employers can do better

Of course, women should not have the courage to ask senior leaders to be their mentors or risk never entering management.

Duke emphasizes that employers need to start rolling out mentoring programs, adding that such interventions need to focus specifically on women in the pre-managerial stage of their careers.

There are some changes the Duke thinks should be made to the hiring process as well.

“We need to make sure that the right employment practices and policies are in place right from the start at that stage.”

“There is unconscious bias,” she adds. “Addressing that, implementing specific training for interviewers who interview at that level will be critical and ensure that your hiring infrastructure is balanced.”

“Balance panels on the interview side, balance panels on the candidate side, that’s going to be a game changer at that level, and that’s what we need to see companies investing in.”