Dive Brief:
- A recent study published Scout Exchange surveyed 1,300 recruiters across the country, and the results are revealing: 80% reported seeing an increase in the number of requests for female execs over the past year, the Boston Globe reports.
- Perhaps inspired by the #MeToo movement, more companies are promoting women to executive positions than in the past. Currently, only 5% of CEOs and 25% of senior managers are women at the country’s 500 largest publicly traded companies.
- Since the Weinstein scandal was revealed, there’s been a jump in women beating out their male counterparts for executive-level jobs — a 41% increase, according to the Scout report. For many employers, the ability to communicate their preference to hire women to recruiters has been challenging, as they worry about violating discrimination laws, the report notes.
Dive Insight:
The #MeToo movement has been credited with creating a cultural shift in the American workplace, though conversations on this topic started in earnest in early 2017 after a slew of revelations from various tech companies in Silicon Valley (and beyond) regarding sexual harassment and bias.
HR professionals have borne much of the backlash for not handling complaints appropriately, but HR departments, as seen here, have spearheaded much of the change in their organizations.
More companies are seeing the value of a diverse workforce, and various practices are reflecting that value. Demand for new kinds of sexual harassment training is at an all-time high, for example, as companies reconsider what is and is not acceptable workplace behavior.
Recruiting tactics have shifted, too, but beyond hiring for diversity, inclusion initiatives are now part of the corporate vernacular, assuring new hires and established employees are incorporated into the culture and want to stay. As more women join the C-suite, observers believe it will lead to a downsizing of the “bro culture” that has permeated some industries, particularly a number of STEM employers.
