03 Aug Balancing Act: Brave New (Work) World
Here are the five biggest challenges working women face today—and how to overcome them.
By Erica Sweeney
Mornings and evenings are particularly demanding and hectic for Aliah Berman, global chief diversity officer at ad agency TBWA/Worldwide and the mom of three kids.
“I’m running at full speed from the moment my day starts until I drop into bed at night,” she says. “I function at my best when I have time each day to transition between what’s required of me as a parent and what’s required of me as a professional.”
To ensure she has the energy and focus to thrive in both roles, Berman likes to build in time to set intentions at the start of her day, to process the day’s events in the evening, and to relax and take care of her own needs at night.
But she doesn’t always have time for these transition periods from work to home life, and says she often struggles to disconnect from work.
She’s not the only woman dealing with this issue. Events of the past three years have reshaped the workplace. More people are working from home, some or all of the time. More companies have placed new emphasis on their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. And more employees are searching for meaning in their work. Still, women in leadership roles say work-life balance remains a struggle; companies have a long way to go to improve representation and equity; and meaningful work is sometimes elusive. Here are the top five challenges, and how women address them.
1. Setting boundaries
Working from home or on a hybrid schedule can be a blessing and a curse. Laure Rudelle Arnaud, chief people and impact officer at Brevo (formerly Sendinblue), appreciates the flexibility. She has four children, including one with a disability, and says she’s grateful to be able to take time off for doctors’ appointments or to care for her kids when she needs to.
“I’m extremely intentional about having flexibility in my working hours,” she says. Brevo, an email marketing platform, allows employees to work at home, in the office, or a hybrid of the two—whichever meets their needs. The company also endorses flexible work schedules and supports parents with 22 weeks of fully paid parental leave and childcare in some cases.
But working from home can also blur work-life balance, says Jackie Cureton, chief diversity officer at link-management platform Bitly. “When your office space is a few steps away from your kitchen, there’s an expectation that you’re available even on the off-hours.”
Boundary setting can be tough, and Cureton says leaders need to be intentional about it so they and their teams have healthy work-life balance and
don’t get burned out. At Bitly, where the workforce is scattered around the globe, she says they’re conscious of time zones when scheduling meetings. And employees are urged to speak up when they need time off or more flexibility in their workday.
“We encourage the team to be honest when they need accommodations,” Cureton says, adding that the company fosters a culture of understanding that everyone has different priorities when it comes to work and home life.”
2 Finding more meaning in work
Employees want challenging and interesting work, with leaders who inspire and motivate them. They also have high expectations for transparency and accountability, says Tara Ataya, chief people and diversity officer at Hootsuite, a social media management platform. She says Hootsuite creates space for everyone’s voice to be heard.
“We don’t ask people to fit in,” Ataya says. “We ask them to be who they are. And then the role of the organization is to get the best out of who they are.”
People want to know that their work is meaningful and provides value to an organization, Aliah Berman says. “I keep in mind that the needs of different individuals on my team may differ and do my best to keep an open line of communication with my team so that I’m attuned to their needs,” she says.
3. Dealing with the disparity in equity and representation
Women, especially women of color, are vastly underrepresented in the C-suite. Among organizations’ senior leadership, about 25 percent are women, and just one in 20 are women of color, according to the Women in the Workplace 2022 survey by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org.
“There’s still an imbalance in terms of representation,” Cureton says. “We’ve seen some progress, but we often see regression at the same time. I don’t often see many who look like me in the room where decisions are made.”
That can create a sense of isolation. Women of color often feel pressure to succeed and fear making mistakes or standing out for the wrong reasons, which they worry could put opportunities for their peers at risk, Berman says.
“These things can contribute to burnout at a higher and faster rate than other groups,” she explains. “From pervasive microaggressions to lack of leadership representation to unequal pay, women of color are spending time and energy that should be reserved for the already challenging and time-consuming workplace demands on issues that do not impact other groups.”
More than 80 percent of companies report increasing their investments in DEI, according to 2022 Gallup research. But employees contend these efforts are lacking, with only 31 percent saying their organization is committed to improving racial justice or equality at work.
Berman says DEI leaders often feel like they’re competing for significance with other business demands. At TBWA, her team communicates its DEI commitments, progress, and opportunities and showcases the leadership’s support for the efforts. They’ve launched employee resource groups (ERGs) and mentorship and development programs to strengthen the pipeline of women of color, and they provide learning sessions to address workplace disparities, bias, and microaggressions, as well as one offering equitable feedback.
4. Protecting mental health
Reports of layoffs, mass shootings, police brutality, and ongoing political divisiveness are creating uncertainty and anxiousness that affect everyone. Plus, employees have been dealing with individual challenges over the past three years.
Company leaders need to put mental health at the forefront. “The mental health of our employees has always been a priority, and that matters now more than ever,” Ataya says.
Hootsuite has developed benefits programs to support employees’ mental health and encourages transparent conversations between managers and their teams so managers understand how they can support employees during difficult times.
“For many of us trying to make sense of the past three years, the way we think about the role of employers and colleagues has changed forever,” Ataya says. “It’s been a time of learning but also an important time of unlearning the past.”
One way Bitly addresses mental health is by encouraging employees to have honest conversations when they’re struggling. The company also suggests managers not hold meetings on Fridays, and it allows employees to log off a little early ahead of the weekend if they’ve met their responsibilities and requirements for the week.
5. Staying connected
When workforces are distributed around the world, it’s easy to feel disconnected. Making employees feel included and supported depends on enabling them to connect in whatever way they choose.
“Three years after the pandemic started, and with some of our recent changes, such as a new CEO, we’ve really been feeling the need for connectedness, so we continue to look at ways to connect our people in person and virtually,” Ataya says.
Hootsuite has resumed larger in-office meetings but also gives employees the choice and flexibility to choose what works for their lifestyles, she adds. For employees who prefer face-to-face interaction, Ataya says they’re piloting programs, such as live ERG events or Q&As with the company’s CEO that
allow coworkers to mingle.
There’s another important element for connection. The bottom line, Ataya says, is that women in leadership need to support one another and lean on one another for “mentorship and championship.”
“Celebrate each other’s successes,” she adds. “It’s important to cheer on and empower other women. Even little wins are still wins. When I’m in meetings or discussions, I also try to make the conscious effort to amplify the voices of other women in the room. By acknowledging their contributions and ideas, it helps give them an equal opportunity to speak and be heard.” DW
Erica Sweeney is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, Men’s Health, Business Insider, Good Housekeeping, and other publications.
