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Women @ Work 2024: A Global Outlook

Now in its fourth year, Deloitte’s Women @ Work: A Global Outlook examines some of the critical workplace and societal factors that can profoundly impact women’s careers. The findings are thought-provoking. They give us insight into the challenges, both in and out of the workplace, faced by the world’s working women today—and how far employers around the world still have to go to create workplaces where women thrive.

Three women standing with arms crossed

Representing the views of 5,000 women from workplaces across 10 countries, Women @ Work: A Global Outlook seeks to understand the lived experiences of women at work—and the ways in which aspects of their lives outside of work can impact these experiences.

Listen: Women @ Work 2024 Podcast

Deloitte's Global Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer Emma Codd discusses key findings from the report

48% of women in this year’s survey say they are concerned or very concerned about their mental health

Stress levels are rising and workplace mental health stigma persist

Half of women say their stress levels are higher than they were a year ago, and a similar percentage say they’re concerned or very concerned about their mental health. Yet, many women aren’t receiving adequate mental health support from their employers and don’t feel comfortable talking about their mental health in the workplace.

Stress and mental health year-over-year

Lack of flexibility and poor work/life balance are among the top reasons women changed jobs in the past year

Organizations aren’t making enough progress on gender equality and work/life balance

Only around one in 10 women think their employer is taking concrete steps to fulfill its commitment to gender equality. Less than two in 10 say their employer has communicated gender diversity targets. About half of women don’t think their employer’s commitment to supporting women has increased over the past year, and less than half feel supported by their employer to balance their work responsibilities with commitments outside work. A quarter of women do not want to progress into a senior leadership position in their organization. The top cited reason? Company culture.

Many women don’t feel supported by their employer, particularly on work/life balance.

95%

95% of women believe that requesting or taking advantage of flexible work opportunities will negatively affect their career progression.

93%

93% don’t expect that their workload would be adjusted if they move to a flexible work arrangement.

The Gender Equality Leaders are getting it right, but there aren’t enough of them

As with previous years, Deloitte’s research has identified a group of “Gender Equality Leaders", organizations that, according to the women surveyed, have created genuinely inclusive cultures that support their careers, work/life balance, and foster inclusion. Only 6% of the women in our survey work for one of these organizations.

These women feel safer, are more comfortable talking about their mental health at work and are more comfortable that they can work flexibly without it damaging their career. They also report higher levels of loyalty, productivity, and motivation.

Women working for Gender Equality Leaders are also:

  • More optimistic about their career prospects and twice as likely to recommend their organization to other women
  • Less likely to have experienced non-inclusive behaviors, experience lower stress levels and are less likely to have taken time off for mental health challenges.
  • Significantly more likely to plan to stay with their employer for longer and to see it as somewhere they want to progress
Image of a woman shaking hands

It’s clear that organizations have work to do to drive progress on their commitments to gender equality. Women @ Work: A Global Outlook provides a unique insight into the experiences of women in the workplace and what they want and need their employers to do to move forward. What actions will you take?

Download the 2024 Women @ Work report
4 MB PDF
View the Women @ Work press release

Get in touch

Emma Codd
Deloitte Global Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer
Elizabeth Faber
Deloitte Global Chief People & Purpose Officer