Press Blog
One in Three Women Attempt to Shatter the Glass Ceiling Amidst Ongoing Hardship
March 08, 2022
The pandemic has changed the way we live and work, and women in particular have been disproportionally affected by the global shift. In spring 2020, approximately 3.5 million mothers with school-age children lost jobs or left the workforce in the U.S. Although jobs have returned, there are 1.1 million fewer women in the workforce than in February 2020.
HP’s new global external study reveals not all is lost. Many women are still eager to advance in their careers, with one in three in the U.S. applying for promotions last year. The top reason for applying for a promotion among all adults is to increase income (60%), followed by readiness to take on more responsibility (37%). More women (42%) than men (31%) say they are looking for a promotion because they are already doing higher-level tasks outside of their role.
Additional key findings:
Women’s Ambition Remains, but More Men than Women are Getting Promoted
Among the countries that participated, the top country with women who applied for a promotion was India (90%), which was more than men (67%). United Kingdom came in second with 32% of women who applied for a promotion versus 26% of men. In the U.S., fewer women than men say they applied or expressed interest in a promotion – 30% of women compared to 38% of men. Also, men in the U.S. were more likely to be successful – 52% of men got the promotion they applied for, as opposed to 40% of women.
From the Great Resignation to the Great Retention
The ability to manage work and life (56%) was the top reason women in the U.S. said they want to stay at their current company. Only 10% say a competitive total compensation package makes them stay, as opposed to 21% of men. More men (37%) than women (29%) in the U.S. point to the opportunities they have to grow with their employer as a reason to stay with their current company.
Hybrid Work has the Highest Potential to Support Women & Minorities
Flexibility may be key to retaining women and minority groups in the workplace, but many believe physical connection is an important mechanism to advance their careers. In the U.S., it’s a tie between the hybrid work model (30%) and in-person/office model (30%) that are believed to be most beneficial. Only 17% think the remote work model is most ideal for advancing women and minorities. Interestingly, more people in Canada (36%), U.K. (38%), Mexico (42%) and India (32%) than in the U.S. thought the hybrid work model is most beneficial for women and minorities to grow in the workplace.
At HP, we remain committed to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion across our company and in the communities where we live, work and do business. We recognized an opportunity to double down on supplier diversity when designing the HP Racial Equality and Social Justice Task Force with our leaders and a group of diverse employees in the U.S. While HP’s Supplier Diversity Program in the U.S. already had an economic impact of approximately $1 billion in 2020, we knew we could do more. That’s why we set goals like ensuring 10 percent of HP diversity spend in the U.S. be with by Black and African American suppliers, and 10 percent of HP supplier account teams be Black and Africans Americans, both by the end of 2022.
These goals are part of HP’s ambition to become the world’s most sustainable and just technology company. In essence, we believe companies should lead the way in helping solve society’s most pressing problems and answer the call of our communities.
Today, HP announces an expanded early payment program in partnership with C2FO that will provide broad access to funding for the company’s diverse suppliers, which include women-owned, veteran-owned, small disadvantaged, minority-owned and HUBZone businesses. Studies from the Federal Reserve and others have found that diverse businesses face greater difficulty in accessing credit, creating short-term cash flow challenges.
This program will allow accelerated payment of invoices to diverse suppliers, providing more immediate and beneficial cash flow to eligible businesses. Improved cash flow will free up resources for suppliers’ business objectives, like capital for sustained business growth. It is designed to be simple and easy to navigate – made possible by C2FO’s unified, secure platform, and therefore, will not require complex onboarding or an overload of paperwork. It’s yet another way HP is supporting diverse suppliers by offering additional tools to help them succeed, prosper and grow.
We understand this doesn’t solve all the challenges that diverse suppliers face today, and there’s a lot more work ahead to make meaningful progress with them. However, we will continue to use our platform, resources and influence as a force for good and find ways that can make a positive and sustainable impact on their businesses.
Employees Feel Bullish about Corporate Efforts to Fight Gender Discrimination
Employees are largely feeling encouraged by actions their employers have taken on gender equity. In the U.S., about half of people say their company is making more efforts to combat gender discrimination than in the past. Perhaps not surprisingly, more men (54%) than women (42%) agree that their company is taking more steps on gender equity.
Still, one in three adults (32%) in the U.S. think corporate DEI efforts have waned since 2020. Younger employees in particular expect more action from employers. About two in five Gen Zers (39%) and Millennials (41%) believe their company’s efforts have decreased lately, compared to only 24% of Gen Xers and 16% of Baby Boomers who feel that way.
Gender Equity Efforts at HP
HP is making concerted efforts to retain women and help them grow. Since the pandemic started, the company has been conducting listening sessions and pulse surveys to understand how it can support women and other underrepresented groups. As a result, HP offered more wellness benefits and empowered managers to provide customized solutions for their direct reports as everyone’s needs are different. Solutions range from more flexibility to sponsorship programs to tutoring programs designed to help working parents provide academic assistance for their children.
HP’s Chief People Officer Kristen Ludgate says now is the time for companies to step up. "We can’t afford to lose more women in the workforce. This is a wake-up call for companies to reconnect with their female employees. Leaders need to actively listen to female employees’ needs and take fast action. At the core, it’s about fostering a strong sense of belonging – for women to know that they are respected, their contributions are valued, and they have an open path for growth.”
And as we learned from the survey, despite the ongoing hardship, women want to grow and advance in their careers. HP is being very intentional at developing the next generation of female leaders; it recently committed to reaching 50/50 gender equality in HP leadership by 2030 – the first Fortune 100 tech company to make this pledge. This goal as well as additional diversity targets that the company set are part of HP’s ambition to become the world’s most sustainable and just technology company.
About the study
HP commissioned global research firm Morning Consult to conduct independent research on this topic. It was conducted between January 24 and February 7, 2022 among a sample of 6,211 adults in the US, Canada, UK, Mexico and India.* Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 to 3 percentage points.
*Top box acquiescence is common in India based on prior Morning Consult surveys and internal research. Acquiescence bias means the tendency for respondents to agree with research statements, and as a high acquiescence country results in India often stand out compared to other markets and should be interpreted with that respondent tendency in mind.
Full Data Fact Sheet
Footnotes and disclaimers
About HP
Media Contact
HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) is a global technology leader and creator of solutions that enable people to bring their ideas to life and connect to the things that matter most. Operating in more than 170 countries, HP delivers a wide range of innovative and sustainable devices, services and subscriptions for personal computing, printing, 3D printing, hybrid work, gaming, and more. For more information, please visit: HP.com.
Contact: MediaRelations@hp.com
Inquire
Visit