Published on
Updated
Reading 2 min.
Globally, women represent around half of the working population, according to figures from the International Labor Organization. Although progress has been made, women still struggle to access higher positions and salaries. However, it is not the desire that they lack, according to a recent American survey.
Nearly 90% of women surveyed in the latest edition of CNBC and SurveyMonkey*’s annual “Women at Work” survey say they have ambition. However, far fewer of them are satisfied with their professional life.
Women often harmed professionally
Working women regret that their remuneration is not higher. Just under four in ten respondents obtained a salary increase in 2023, compared to 44% the previous year. Worse still, 17% say it has even fallen in one year. This phenomenon is all the more alarming given that women are traditionally over-represented in the lowest paid professions. They are therefore structurally more exposed to poverty than men.
In addition to being disadvantaged in terms of salary, women are also disadvantaged when it comes to obtaining a promotion. Only 20% say that their career has progressed in 2023. Conversely, 18% say that they have regressed professionally last year.
Less affected by burnout
On a more encouraging note, almost a quarter of women say they have managed to better reconcile their professional and private lives. This is good news when we know how important it is to find the right balance between these two spheres to preserve our physical and mental health.
Letting work encroach too much on your personal life increases the risk of stress, anxiety, and even burnout. Fortunately, women seem less affected than before by professional burnout: 45% of them say that they “rarely” or “never” feel in this state. A figure up four points compared to 2022.
However, these few advances are not enough to resolve all the problems facing women in the world of work. Some try to remedy this by leaving their job, in the hope of finding another one that will better meet their salary expectations and which will subject them to less pressure. But they do not always succeed, which contributes to further accentuating gender inequalities in terms of career development and income.
*The 2024 edition of the annual “Women at Work” survey from CNBC and SurveyMonkey was carried out from February 23 to March 4 among 19,743 Americans, including 9,786 women.