US: Women of colour face more challenges, less support at workplaces: Study

A study conducted by Mckinsey and Company presented their views on the post-pandemic state of women in United States' workplaces. The 2021 report asserted that women are significantly more sidelined and increasingly more than men. To add to the already disturbing trend, women of colour in the US are subjected to more challenges and less support at their workplaces.

While there are increased work-related commitments like acquiring more team support, creating a diverse work culture and so on, such critical work "often go unrecognised and unrewarded." Additionally, there also has been a visible deviation of the US-based companies from the promised racial equity. Today, "women of colour often face microaggressions as they did two years ago- and they remain fat more like than white women to be on the receiving end of disrespectful and "othering" behaviour," the study suggests.

McKinsey & Company along with LeanIn.org carried out a comprehensive survey with participants spanning over 400 plus US companies. The researchers studied the data attained from interviews of 65,000 employees. The concluding data also suggested that despite the hard work and added plight of racial discrimination, work experiences do not even translate into better opportunities. They only add to stress and exhaustion, the seventh annual report on Women in Workplace mentioned.

[Women of colour continue to lose ground at every step in the pipeline- between entry-level and C-suite. Image: Unsplash]

Barriers for women in the post-pandemic corporate pipeline

While the pandemic continues to take a toll on mankind, the burnout gap between women and men has significantly doubled in the corporate pipeline in the past year. If that is not enough, as per the study, "the burnout is escalating much faster among women than men." As per the study, one in evet three women have expressed will consider downshifting their careers or leaving their workplace this year. Additionally, the data also showed a significant drop in sustained progress of women of colour at more senior levels. "Women of colour continue to lose ground at every step in the pipeline- between entry-level and C-suite, the representation of a woman of colour has dropped off more than 75%. As a result, women of colour account for only 4% of C-suite leaders, a number that hasn't moved significantly in the past three years."

Last but not the least, among the array of racial disparities in the corporate structure, Asian women are often overlooked at work despite hard work which is usually at par with their peers. "Even when the overall performance ratings are strong, Asian women on less likely than other groups of women to receive positive feedback on the leadership abilities," the study stated. Most frequently Asian women at the workplace are "mistaken for someone else of the same race." Such stereotyping and biases lead to more acute challenges and eventually bad experiences in the majority of US-based corporate chains.

Image: Unsplash (representative)