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Despite frequently working in high-profile settings, women rarely become leaders in their respective fields. For example, in law firms, only 19.5% of equity partners were female, and women were 29% less likely than males to hold the first position of leadership. Work-life balance is frequently cited as the primary reason by corporations, but surveys conducted by the Harvard Business Review offer an alternative justification.
After conducting studies at a high-profile firm, one of the major problems was accommodations the firms were offering. Businesses provided employees with accommodations in an effort to address gender imbalance at work. However, the majority of the employees who accepted these opportunities were women, which frequently affected the course of their careers and diminished their chances of securing leadership positions. In addition, high-profile firms also require extremely long hours which meant that many of its employees were burning out and had little time to spend time with family. These factors disproportionately affected women because during times of long hours they were more likely to take accommodations, which were detrimental to their career paths. While research supports these conclusions, firms were unwilling to believe that long hours were the cause of this inequality. Studying the psychological and emotional reactions further, the Review discovered “push” factors within the work place, which included men being perceived as working and women perceived as “caretakers”. The work-family narrative just reinforced these biases within the workplace
However, while I believe that long hours are a key player in the gender-imbalance within these firms, the question is whether decreasing the workload on employees is actually feasible. At high-profile firms, employees working long hours is necessary to maintain workflow, efficiency and revenue. Especially in harsh economic times, firms are struggling to make ends meet. While the review mentions a specific firm working its employees 24/7 due to overselling and overdelivering, working long hours is crucial to the functionality of most firms. For instance, investment bankers and associates at law firms often have to work 80-90 hours a week during ongoing cases, and deals. Instead of reducing the amount of hours, I believe the solution comes in the flexibility of work schedules
Following Covid, businesses shifted away from an in-person work schedule and toward an online, more flexible one. Employees would be allowed to work remotely for a few days a month if necessary. This would be the ideal option for women who are juggling their home and professional lives. They would be able to take on leadership roles and ensure that a balance is being struck. Employees should be allowed to finish their work at home, if necessary, after a full day of work. This way companies would not compromise on the number of hours that workers work, but also provide a chance for working fathers and mothers to spend time with their families.
