82% women actively pursuing their career than ever before, Survey

By Princewill Ekwujuru A survey conducted by Pricewaterhouse Coopers, PwC, says 82 per cent of women are actively pursuing the ability to fu...

By Princewill Ekwujuru

A survey conducted by Pricewaterhouse Coopers, PwC, says 82 per cent of women are actively pursuing the ability to fulfil their career, and 73 per cent are actively seeking career advancement opportunities.

The survey also said that 42 per cent of women are nervous that starting a family might hinder their career, and 48 per cent of new mothers felt overlooked for promotions and special projects upon their return to work.

The survey went on to say that 45 per cent of women believe diversity can be a barrier to career progression, while 51 per cent feel their employers are doing enough to improve gender diversity.

Speaking, Uyi Akpata, Country Senior Partner, PwC, in commemoration of the International Women’s Day, IWD, in the report  said over 3,600 professional women (aged 28-40) were interviewed to find out about their career development experiences and aspirations.

Akpata stated that the survey included respondents from employers across 27 industry sectors and from over 60 countries worldwide.

The report titled: Time to talk: What has to change for women at work  – reveal that women are confident, ambitious and ready for what’s next, but many don’t trust what their employers are telling them about career development and promotion; or what helps or hurts their career.

The  Country Senior Partner said in the report that to improve career development opportunities, 58 per cent of women identified greater transparency as the critical step employers can take.

This, the report says, means offering women staff a clear understanding of the expectations on both sides of the employment equation, including information about career progression and success, and open conversations with employees on where they stand and what is expected of them to advance.

Akpata stated that chief executive officers recognise the importance of being transparent about their diversity and inclusion programmes. To build trust, the message isn’t universal and strong enough; 45 per cent of women believe an employee’s diversity status (gender, ethnicity, age, sexual preference) can be a barrier to career progression in their organisation, and only 51per cent of women agree that employers are doing enough to improve gender diversity.