Kristin Luck
Women in Research (WIRe), began informally with a group of less than 20 industry women that I invited out to cocktails in Los Angeles back in 2007. Since then WIRe has grown to more than 300 members spanning the globe and today our mission is to encourage the establishment of empowering and nurturing relationships among women in market research. What started off as a few informal cocktail hours among female research colleagues has evolved into a non-profit industry organisation that provides women in market research with a support network that includes mentoring and education opportunities.
Although WIRe originated as an informal way of connecting women in the industry, most recently the group has garnered attention for conducting, in partnership with Lieberman Research Worldwide, Decipher and Research-live.com, the first industry wide study on gender and diversity in the workplace. Gender inequality, especially as it relates to compensation, has been under scrutiny for several decades, particularly in the United States where women, on average, are paid 77 cents to the dollar that men are for the same work.
WIRe’s industry gender and diversity study, which was released in October 2012, uncovered interesting data that helped give insight into disparity between males and females in the market research industry, and the reasons behind it. In fact, even though the industry is historically dominated by females, only a small percentage of CEO’s and senior managers are women (16% of Honomichl 50 firms are run by women).
With this study, we wanted to explore this phenomenon specifically within our industry, and much of what was found was quite interesting. It suggests that companies need to focus on salary parity as well as make a shift to equalise the balance between personal life and work for their employees, especially women with children.
Several issues were explored during the study, which was conducted over June and July of this year with more than 600 industry respondents around the globe. Survey participants were asked questions about compensation, children and family issues, job satisfaction and job responsibility levels.
Some of the results included:
- The industry is predominantly female at a junior/mid-level (67% female), but skews increasingly male as we move up the corporate ladder (47% female)
- Females make a significantly lower salary for doing the same job as their male counterparts ($20,000 less per year on average in upper management)
- Neither males nor females feel they are being discriminated against, and are evenly satisfied with their careers (56% of females; 59% of males)
- Children and family become an obstacle for many females in advancing their career, motivation, and opportunity (60% of women feel that having children limits opportunities)
- Females with children do not feel that pregnancy is supported by their employers (only 1% feel that pregnancy is extremely supported by their employer)
- Satisfaction is higher among those working under female CEOs (13% higher among both males and females; with 72% of females under female CEOs, vs 56% under male CEOs, feeling that pregnancy is supported)
Results of the study suggest that market research firms need to proactively encourage females to come back to the industry after having children, and provide opportunities to continue their careers after beginning a family. Some suggestions spurred from the study included programs to keep those on maternity leave engaged while away; transition programs for easing return to work after maternity leave; and family benefits, such as the provision of childcare to encourage females to come back to work faster.
But these issues are not specific to the market research industry. In fact, a study released last spring by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics noted that mothers are working more than ever, presenting unique issues to employers that have a goal of helping employees balance home and work life. According to the report, mothers with younger children are less likely to be in the labour force than mothers with older children. In 2011, the labour force participation rate of mothers with children under 6 years old (63.9 percent) was lower than the rate of those whose youngest child was 6 to 17 years old (76.1 percent). This data supports the findings of the WIRe study, which indicate that many feel motherhood is not highly supported by employers. However, these high percentage rates of mothers in workforce show that many women are still attempting to balance home and work.
In an article based on the book “What’s A Smart Woman Like You Doing At Home” by Linda Burton, these types of statistics are scrutinised. “Mothers today are indeed participating in the work force in record numbers…more are solely responsible for the economic well-being of their families.” Are they sacrificing advancement in their career path in order to make efforts to spend time with their children? Many working mothers have to participate in work in a resourceful way that also allows them to be available to their children.
These perspectives serve to reinforce the findings of the WIRe study and, more importantly, are a reminder that employers need to find ways to help ALL employees find a better work/life balance in order to be successful. It’s important to recognise that employers need to focus on creating working environments that are conducive to a healthy family life (whether or not that includes children), regardless of an employee’s gender. With the advent of Smartphone’s and other connected devices, we’ve moved to a 24/7 work environment that doesn’t allow any real “downtime” (which is ringing particularly true as I write this article at 11pm on a Sunday evening). Perhaps the disparity in pay is that women are making more rational decisions to guard their personal time, and given the choice of two equivalent positions – one that’s well paid but with no flexibility and one that’s perhaps less well paid but has more flexibility – more women are consciously opting for the latter.
Why care so much about gender diversity? Multiple studies have confirmed that companies with more women in senior management meet with greater financial success. McKinsey’s Organisational Health Index (OHI) finds “firms with three or more women in top positions score higher than their peers – findings supported by studies by Columbia Business School and University of Maryland, among others.” Fast Company recently reported that Catalyst, a nonprofit focused on expanding opportunities for women in business “found a 26% boost in return on invested capital in companies with lots of women on their boards versus companies with no women”. A study conducted by MIT also found that diversity leads to better products and services. In short, diversity improves performance, morale and end product. “Women are perceived as more empathetic and emotionally driven and they have a unique perspective on how products and services should be developed.” Considering these studies, if you take women out of the equation, out of the board room, out of the research process, there’s a fundamental perspective we’re seriously missing out on as an industry.
Make no mistake; men are an important part of this dialogue. Men are welcome at all WIRe events (our event last week in Los Angeles boasted double digit male attendees in a group of over 60 women)and our biggest corporate sponsors (ESOMAR, The ARF, uSamp, mrOps) are organisations led by men. A big part of creating awareness about gender inequity in the industry is to educate BOTH men and women that it exists. We need to collectively support and encourage more women to progress to senior positions in the industry.
Lastly, if you’re a woman in senior management in this industry, make yourself known. WIRe’s first industry wide mentoring program launched earlier this year and pairs female mentors and mentees based on goals, interests, experience and location. 64% of business women see the absence of female role models as a barrier to their development. Encourage and invest in the leadership of other women. Mentor. Personify the characteristics you hope to see in the world around you.
You can learn more about WIRe at womeninresearch.com, where you can also find detailed results from the gender and diversity study, as well as additional information about our mentoring program.
Kristin Luck is President at Decipher and founder of Women in Research.
