Research released as focal point of Accenture’s observance of International Women’s Day, with company-sponsored events in more than 23 cities globally TORONTO; March 8, 2007—Women say their gender still plays a key role in limiting their achievement in the workplace, according to a research report released today by Accenture (NYSE: ACN). The report, based on a survey of more than 2,200 executives in 13 countries, also found that while male and female executives generally believe their careers are progressing as they had expected, women have lower expectations than men do about how high they might advance in their professions. The report is a focal point of Accenture’s annual observance of International Women’s Day today, during which the company is holding day-long events that are expected to draw more than 6,000 participants—live and virtually—in more than 23 cities, including Toronto. Accenture will also host global and local discussions with company leaders and renowned thought-leaders, including high-level business and government representatives, academics and noted authors. Entitled Expectations and Achievement: Empowering Women from Within, the report examines how career and life expectations change, adapt and evolve over time for both men and women in the workforce. The goal of the research was to determine what influences these changes and what factors enhance or hinder progress. The research was divided into three main areas: career achievement, work/life balance and leadership. Career Achievement
While geography has had a far greater influence on attitudes and experiences than gender, the report shows that in certain key areas, executives believe gender had a real effect on how they’ve been able to advance. Notably, women, including those in Canada, identified gender as the top factor hindering their achievement and reported having more modest expectations about the very highest levels they expect to achieve professionally. Canadian men, on the other hand, ranked gender 13th on the list of barriers to achievement, behind things such as unwillingness to relocate, ineffectively networking within the company and economic downturn. When looking at what factors slowed their progress, women globally were significantly more likely to attribute inherent factors (i.e., who they are) as a barrier to faster advancement, while men were significantly more likely to point to external factors (what happens to them.) For example, Canadian men were more likely than women to cite an economic downturn or company downsizing (26 percent of men vs. 14 percent of women) and unwillingness to relocate (28 percent of men vs. 21 percent of women) as barriers to advancement. On the flip side, Canadian women were almost four times more likely then men to cite gender as the primary reason for not advancing more quickly (25 percent vs. 7 percent). In fact, while gender was the No. 1 barrier to advancement cited by women, it was ranked 13th (out of 18 factors) among Canadian men. For Canadian women, personal ambition and drive ranked as the top factor for career advancement with 76 percent citing this factor versus men at 68 percent. Specifically, the survey showed no difference between men and women in perceived pace of career development. However, gender differences were apparent when respondents were asked to judge how fast they had advanced in relation to their male and female colleagues. A majority of both men (55 percent) and women (57 percent) said they progressed faster than their female colleagues; this was particularly true in China, where 78 percent of women and 90 percent of men said their progress was faster than that of their female colleagues. In Canada, men said their pace matched their expectations (42 percent) compared to one-third of women. Canadian women generally rated the speed of their advancement faster than their female colleagues but slower than their male colleagues. Yet, Canadian men (15 percent) were initially more likely to see themselves rise to the top C-Suite level than women (5 percent) Today, at 14 percent, Canadian women are slightly more likely than men (12 percent) to see themselves reach the top of the corporate ladder. Work/Life Balance
The research indicated that while both men and women today are struggling to balance their personal and professional lives, in most instances the burden of caring for children while continuing to advance professionally continues to fall more heavily on women. While less than one-third of executives (36 percent of Canadian men and 21 percent of women) said they “live to work,” more women reported currently pursuing careers involving greater personal sacrifice than they had envisioned when they were starting out in their careers. Technology was not always perceived to enhance the work/life balance. In fact, in China and Canada, women reported they were most likely to feel trapped by technology (52 percent and 45 percent, respectively). In addition, 27 percent of Canadian men tend to spend more than 51 hours at work compared to 17 percent of Canadian women. Interestingly, respondents who had sacrificed flexibility in their careers over time said the importance of work/life balance had grown. Both Canadian men and women rated “being stimulated by my work” as the most important factor in their careers when starting out. Today, however, “being stimulated by work” is seen as less important for women than a “work/life balance,” “being there when my family/children need me” and “having a happy home life/relationship/marriage.” As well, aside from maternity leave, 41 percent of Canadian women compared to 29 percent of men have seriously considered leaving the workforce for longer than a year. In fact, 25 percent of Canadian women have left the workforce for longer than a year compared to only 15 percent of men. Leadership
According to the research, stereotypes about whether individual leadership characteristics are more “male” or “female” do exist among men and women, but with wide variances across countries. In general, men and women strongly agree on what it takes to be an effective leader. Globally, both men and women respondents ranked the following as the top five most important characteristics of an effective leader: - Is calm during a crisis
- Is decisive
- Is aware of his/her weaknesses
- Gives credit to others
- Is concerned about the welfare of employees
However, about half of Canadian men and women identified certain character traits as being either more distinctly masculine or feminine. For example, both genders were more likely to associate women with some of the traditionally “softer” leadership skills, such as “leads by building consensus,” “ethical,” “support of women in the workplace” and “is concerned about the welfare of employees,” while associating men with such characteristics as “charismatic,” “visionary,” “makes profitability the top priority,” “decisive” and “leads by asserting authority.” Interestingly, Canadian woman said that women “work harder than others.” About the Survey
Accenture conducted an online survey of 2,246 executives in mid-to-senior level management positions, ranging from manager to C-level executives. Women comprised 62 percent and men comprised 38 percent of respondents. The online survey in Canada of 204 executives was 65 percent Canadian women and 35 percent men. Research was conducted in 13 countries: Austria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Fieldwork was conducted in January and February 2007. For more information or to access the complete global research report, visit www.accenture.com. About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. Committed to delivering innovation, Accenture collaborates with its clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. With deep industry and business process expertise, broad global resources and a proven track record, Accenture can mobilize the right people, skills, and technologies to help clients improve their performance. With approximately 146,000 people in 49 countries, the company generated net revenues of US$16.65 billion for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2006. Its home page is www.accenture.com. CONTACT:
Sarah Thompson
Accenture
416-641-4416
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