In 2008, Sheryl Sandberg left the primarily male dominated Google to become Chief Operating Officer for yet another tech company full of men – Facebook. The COO has since become a passionate advocate and best-selling author on the subject of gender equality in the workplace with “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead.“ With the establishment of her foundation, LeanIn.Org, Sandberg continues her ongoing desire to help women achieve their ambitions. 

Last year, LeanIn.Org collaborated with McKinsey & Co. to create Women in the Workplace 2016.  For the report, 132 companies were surveyed and the findings were compiled into what Sandberg considers to be “the most comprehensive annual review of women in corporate America." ¹

Major findings of the report: ²

• There are fewer women in the leadership pipeline. The disparity between men and women in the workplace begins with the very first promotion to manager. For every 100 women receiving that first critical promotion, 130 men are promoted. For women of color, the differences are even more pronounced. This group experiences the greatest barriers to advancement, and they also face the largest drop-off rate as they climb the corporate ladder.

^{Graphics courtesy of Women in the Workplace 2}

• Women are negotiating as often as men—but face pushback when they do.
According to the study, women who ask for a pay raise or promotion are 30% more likely than men to be described as “bossy,” “too aggressive,” or “intimidating.”

• Women get less access to senior leaders. Women and men both consider the support of senior management and mentors as important to advancement. However, women feel that they have less opportunity for substantive interaction with senior leaders. They further indicated that as they advanced, their opportunities for interaction decreased even further.

• Women ask for feedback as often as men—but are less likely to receive it. While managers in the survey felt that they didn’t deal with women and men differently when offering constructive or critical feedback, the women felt that they received it less often than men.

• Women see the pros and cons of senior leadership differently than men. Interestingly, only 40% of women indicated they wanted to be in top management, compared to 56% of men. While both men and women were concerned with work-life balance and office politics, women with and without children said they didn’t want the pressure. Women further felt their path to a c-level position would be harder than it would be for a man.

In conclusion, Sandberg offered employers the following suggestions for making their commitment to gender diversity a reality.

• Treat gender equality as a vital component of company culture
• Quantify the gender breakdown for hiring and promotions
• Set specific goals for hiring and promoting women
• Educate hiring managers on the best way to support gender diversity objectives
• Communicate why diversity is important for the business and for everyone in the organization.

"These things matter,” writes Sandberg. “Not just for women, but for us all.”¹

^{1 http://fortune.com/2016/09/27/sheryl-sandberg-women-in-the-workplace/
2 https://womenintheworkplace.com/}