No equality at work without equality at home

Welcome to The Lead, Lean In’s newsletter connecting you with the latest news and insights to help you advance in your career and achieve your ambitions. Let’s dive right in.

Earlier this month, our Women in the Workplace report showcased that women hold far more power across corporate America than ever before: 29% of the C-suite is composed of women today, up from 17% in 2015. 

But no matter how high women climb on the corporate ladder, inequities persist at home: today, roughly 4 in 10 women with partners say they are responsible for most or all of the housework—the same as in 2016. And senior-level women with partners are over four times more likely than men in the same situation to do more housework.

“We have a woman running for president and more women in leadership positions, yet we still have millions of working women who need more support to excel in their career aspirations,” said one woman who is a senior leader at a nonprofit. “In a society where we talk about the mental load and unequal share of parenting duties much more often, women are still responsible for most of the household duties.”

Companies have no control over how their employees divvy up responsibilities on the home front. And yet, countless interviews with women prove that we can’t get to equality in the workplace without also addressing the uneven distribution of labor at home. Read more here in an article I wrote on the topic for Motherly. 

Now I want to hear from you: How do you discuss household responsibilities with your partner? What’s worked and what hasn’t? Thanks in advance for your insights—they may be shared in a future issue of The Lead. 

       —Caroline Fairchild, Lean In Editor-in-Chief

More Latina leaders. Our State of Latinas in Corporate America report found that only 1% of C-suite executives are Latina. After reading our report, former CEO of the Latino Media Network Sylvia Banderas Coffinet writes that companies are missing out on Latinas’ immense potential by undervaluing their unique cultural strengths. [PS]

Beyond the seed. There has been a surge in venture capital firms focused on funding early stage start-ups founded by women. While this has led to more funding for women founders at the pre-seed and seed rounds, women entrepreneurs are finding it challenging to secure larger rounds of funding as their companies mature. [The New York Times]

The “gender promotion gap.” The persistence of the gender pay gap can be largely attributed to an imbalance in promotion rates between men and women. Our Women in the Workplace report shows that women continue to experience a “broken rung” at the first step up to manager: only 81 women are promoted for every 100 men. [CNBC]

In-person preferred? As many companies formalize return-to-office mandates,  86% of CEOs in a KPMG survey said that “they will reward employees who make an effort to come into the office with favorable assignments, raises or promotions.” Translation: a vast majority of CEOs are more likely to promote workers who come into the office over remote employees. [Fortune]

Open Circle for Latinas (60 minutes)

Join us this Hispanic Heritage Month at one of our events hosted specifically for Latinas. In this 60-minute session, you’ll have the opportunity to meet women from around the globe, connect with one another in small breakout groups, and get inspired to start your own Circle.

October 16

Circle Leader Training (60 minutes) 

How to get your Circle started, from deciding on your Circle’s purpose and recruiting members to join, right up to hosting your first meeting.

October 7, October 10, October 11

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Women with disabilities experience a wide range of microaggressions that reflect both ableism and sexism. There is also a prevalent assumption that women with disabilities are incapable of working, learning, taking on new challenges, or participating in events and activities with colleagues. And in 2024, women with disabilities reported significantly more workplace burnout than women overall.

In our Women at Work Collection, we have a playlist of videos that helps unpack some of the most common biases women with disabilities face, as well as research-backed, actionable steps you can take to combat them. Each video is accompanied by a guide specific to the experiences of women with disabilities. The guide helps you discuss with your peers how best to navigate these challenges and thrive at work. Check it out here.

Do you have a career question that you’d like to ask an expert? Or do you need advice on how to handle a challenging situation at work? Send us an email with your question. We’ll keep your identity anonymous and find the right person within the Lean In network to give you an actionable answer.  Email thelead@leanin.org with your questions.