Women are less satisfied at work than men: Here’s how to fix it

Job satisfaction isn’t created equal. According to this year’s Job Satisfaction survey from the Conference Board, for the seventh consecutive year, women have been significantly less satisfied than men across nearly all areas of job satisfaction.¹

Interestingly, women didn’t always find themselves less satisfied at work. The report notes that from 2011 to 2016, job satisfaction between men and women was almost the same; the gap first emerged in 2017 and has been widening in recent years. If dwindling job satisfaction is a relatively recent phenomenon for women, what accounts for it, and what steps can companies take to shrink this growing workplace division?¹

This data comes at a surprising time — overall job satisfaction is at an all-time high, and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows the employment gap progressively narrowing between men and women, a profound rebound from the pandemic spurred she-cession where fewer women were participating in the workforce.²

It’s not a question of waning career interest or aspirations, either. The latest Women in the Workplace report from McKinsey & Company found that women are more ambitious than ever before, with around 80% of women seeking promotions in 2023. According to McKinsey, “At every stage of the pipeline, women are as committed to their careers and as interested in being promoted as men.”³

It’s worth noting that the study also found that where you work impacts satisfaction for both men and women. Highlighting workers’ preference for flexibility, Allan Schweyer, principal researcher in the Human Capital Center at the Conference Board said, “Remote or hybrid work enhances satisfaction, with fully on-site workers reporting the lowest satisfaction.” There’s good reason to believe that this area heavily impacts women, who take on a majority of household responsibilities while balancing their careers, according to research from the Center on Regulation and Markets at Brookings.⁴

Perhaps most telling, though, are the areas in which the satisfaction gap is widest. Schweyer pointed out that the largest gaps were related to compensation, benefits, and career growth. Indeed, the report found that only 33.9% of women are satisfied with their bonus plan — compared to 44.2% of men (a 10.3% gap). Moreover, the report states that “the gap between men and women in satisfaction with wages nearly doubled from 3.6 percentage points in 2022 to seven percentage points in 2023.”

The survey data also shows that women are significantly less satisfied with their potential for future growth than men — an area that saw a 9.8% gender gap. The fact that more women than men report being unhappy with their compensation shouldn’t be surprising. It aligns with the pay disparity that still exists between men and women — as of 2024, women make only 84 cents for every dollar men make, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.⁵

The good news for employers is that these are tangible areas with relatively straightforward solutions: conduct a pay equity audit, implement salary transparency, standardize jobs and pay, encourage salary negotiation and increase access to paid family leave for all employees. There are a multitude of ways leaders can work toward pay parity, equitable opportunities for job growth and access to healthcare that covers the needs of women. This includes recognizing the inherent challenges women face at work as well as taking a closer look at the needs of working mothers.

Promotions, performance reviews and recognition also saw some of the most significant job satisfaction differences. This too isn’t shocking, considering that a wealth of research has found that gender bias impacts performance reviews and that women are less likely to be promoted than their male colleagues. Researchers have also linked gaps in both pay and promotions to gender bias in assessing potential and found that women are “persistently” underestimated by their employers, even when they outperform their coworkers.

While less cut and dry than financial concerns, there are proven strategies employers can take to improve satisfaction in these areas as well. To promote fair promotion practices and identify inequities, McKinsey recommends employers “track who is put up for and who receives promotions — by race and gender combined.” Other practices employers should consider adopting include addressing bias in performance reviews through training, reminders, ongoing monitoring and having “reviewers explain the rationale behind their performance evaluations and promotion recommendations.” It’s also critical that women have mentorship and sponsorship opportunities.

Worker priorities are changing, and businesses need to shift in step to remain competitive in the future. Increasing job satisfaction for women comes down to a commitment to pay and promotion equity as well as women’s career development and advancement, improving company culture and implementing flexible work and robust family leave policies.

When evaluating the current landscape, employers may discover gaps and inequities holding back women and other underrepresented employees. This isn’t something to shy away from — it’s important to find these problems and address them. After all, job satisfaction is a key driver of productivity and has always been linked to better company performance. It just confirms that taking care of your employees will make your business infinitely more successful.

This article was written by Liz Elting from Forbes and was legally licensed through the DiveMarketplace by Industry Dive. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.