Only 1 in 3 women say they feel empowered to perform at their best

Dive Brief:

• Only 36% of women surveyed by HiBob said they feel empowered to perform at their best at their workplaces, and 28% of women said they feel their company’s culture actively supports them, according to survey results released Feb. 26.
• Notably, 34% of men surveyed said they earned a promotion in 2024, compared to 22% of women; similarly, 46% of men said they received a raise in 2024, compared to 32% of women.
• Mentorship also seems to be lacking for women. Less than 10% of women surveyed said they have a formal mentor at work, compared to 15% of men.

Dive Insight:

HiBob surveyed 2,000 full-time employees working in hybrid or in-office environments; 51% of those workers identified as women.

But gender issues are not limited to office workers. The trucking industry has long been unwelcome to women, experts say. And the percentage of women joining its workforce as student drivers and trainees shrank in recent years, according to a 2024 survey from The National Transportation Institute.

“The persistent gender gap in pay and career growth isn’t just a women’s issue — it’s a workplace issue,” Ronni Zehavi, CEO of HiBob, said in a statement. “Businesses thrive when all employees have equal opportunities to advance.”

The “broken rung” of advancement for women is a documented phenomenon. A 2024 report from LeanIn and McKinsey & Co. showed that overall investment in programs focused on women, such as women-specific recruitment, internship and sponsorship programs, had fallen. The report also said women were underrepresented at every stage of the corporate pipeline.

Various survey results similarly suggest that women face pay discrimination; a SHRM report from March 2024 showed that more than 70% of HR professionals agreed that women face discrimination in the labor