Funding Female Careers: Are Women Financial Equals in the Workplace?

While many companies are attempting to do their best when it comes to gender inequality, it’s still not where we want it to be. Since women are paid 82 cents for every dollar a man makes, it leaves room for improvement. But how different is work for men and women?  What is the real state of financial equality?

In a new study, financial adviser Kayla Brennan and Personal Capital wanted to learn how women’s experiences differ from men’s in the workplace. So they surveyed nearly 900 employed American men and women and more than 100 women entrepreneurs, to find out. Here are some of the highlights of that study on financial equality.

How Women Perceive Their Career Outlook

While nearly half (49%) of women felt hopeful about their career aspirations, almost 1 in 3 women weren’t as convinced and reported only feeling somewhat optimistic. About 4% of women were not hopeful at all about their career advancement.

Approximately 7 in 10 women believed they were at a disadvantage in their careers than men, yet nearly the same number (67%) of women thought they were paid fairly.

But when retirement was concerned, men were at an advantage again. Men were 7 percentage points more likely to believe that they will eventually earn enough to make the maximum allowable 401(k) contribution.

According to the study, on average, women were 28 years old when they earned their first promotion, while men were 25. Roughly two-thirds of women reported asking for and being denied a raise or promotion.

Workplace Challenges for Women

The women in the survey also reported experiencing microaggressions at work. The top three were being told to smile more or be more pleasant (41%), having a colleague comment on their appearance (39%), and being underestimated (39%).

Most (96%) women feel supported by other women at work, but 66% said they felt bullied by their female boss.

Almost half (45%) of women said that they addressed the gender pay gap at their company, and more than 9 in 10 of those women said they experienced some form of retaliation because of it.

Of the women who did not bring up the gender pay gap at work, 52% said it was because they did not want to put their chances for career advancement at risk. And 46% were worried they would be punished for calling out their superiors on the issue.

When gender in the workplace is concerned, everyone can do their part to ensure that women are treated fairly. Whether it’s addressing the pay disparity or standing beside women co-workers if they are being retaliated against for speaking up against general disrespect, support can go a long way.

This guest post was authored by Kayla Brennan

Kayla Brennan works in media relations and freelance writes on the side. She loves ice cream and tries every new place she can. She’s expecting her first child by the end of the year, and cannot wait to meet her little girl.