A new world-wide study does away with common myths why women do worse regarding career and payment than their male colleagues:
Women are less demanding regarding their career: As if! They demand career opportunities almost as much as men do and actively work for them - by themselves: already after a few years the men clearly have the edge over the women. The same holds true regarding the money: The demands for a higher salary when entering the job market are almost identical and nevertheless women start their career at approximately 3,500 € / year significantly lower than men. In the successive years this difference is further enhanced.
Women pursue the wrong career strategies: Far from it! Women as well as men use similar recipes for success on their way up: close contact with decision makers, pointing out own successes, openly communicating career goals, consequently looking for new challenges.
Fig. 1: Strategic personnel development: "Typically woman"
Women have disadvantages due to family-related employment breaks: As if! Participants of the long-term study were exclusively men and women that had been employed without breaks since the time of their career entry, in total more than 3,350 people from the USA, Europe and Asia.
What are the consequences of this for your company?
Independent of the function for which you are employed, whether as HR manager, executive or entrepreneur, analyze the situation "in your own backyard". Is it REALLY a question of performance, independent of gender, origin or skin color? In times of demographic changes an innovative personnel policy should actively pick up this subject, deal with its own prejudices and beliefs openly, transparently and honestly and find ways to allow promising high potentials respective careers - no matter whether male or female.