What women want at work

Flexible working, greater transparency, and workplaces free of sexual harassment and discrimination are top of women's wish lists.

27 Feb 2024

Catherine Ngo

Content writer, presenter and podcaster

Gemma Lloyd and Valeria Ignatieva, two trailblazing women driven by personal experiences of sexism, discrimination, and the challenges of balancing work and family, embarked on a transformative journey in 2015 to establish WORK180, a platform that has since gained the trust of millions of women worldwide. WORK180 has become synonymous with employers dedicated to fostering workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The first What Women Want Report was published in 2021 as a direct response to alarming news from the World Economic Forum (WEF). Specifically, that the pandemic significantly increased the projected timeline for eliminating gender inequity from 99.5 years to a staggering 135.6 years.

Now in its fourth year, WORK180 has just released its global report on What Women Want, where 769 women worldwide contributed. The research included questions aiming at a more nuanced understanding of women’s experiences and the intersection of identities such as age, location, employment status, career stages, and race and ethnicity.

In the past year, we have witnessed significant progress in promoting gender equity globally. This was reflected in various achievements, including diverse representation in media with box office successes, the inspirational impact of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and positive legislative changes like Australia’s Workplace Gender Equality Amendment Bill.

Furthermore, the World Economic Forum reported a slight decrease in the global gender pay gap, a promising step towards workplace equality. These developments demonstrate a growing awareness and commitment to gender equality, setting a positive trajectory for the future.

Respondents stated they were looking for employers advocating for progress rather than perfection. Readers should view this report as a catalyst for change, not a mere checklist.

Employers should view the findings as a guide to appropriate actions and leverage real-life experiences to facilitate challenging discussions and secure crucial support. Incremental progress matters and inaction is no longer acceptable.

The key findings of the report

Despite a 2% annual decline, a significant portion of women, about 62%, are receptive to fresh opportunities with different employers, with 23% actively pursuing such prospects.

Flexible working is at the top of the wish list

Flexible working arrangements remain highly sought after, with most respondents valuing it more than a high salary.

Here’s what women want from flexible working policies:

Increased control over working hours
Remote working options
Flexibility to manage personal issues (beyond parenting)
Part-time or flexible arrangements (without negative consequences)
Clarity and consistency in policies
Normalisation/active removal of stigma for those using flexible working

Practices to address & prevent sexual harassment

Sadly, many face the reality of a workplace that does not have a zero-tolerance policy against sexual harassment, as it received the second-highest number of votes. Additionally, the survey was filled with appeals and stories seeking protection for workers from attacks and discrimination in the workplace.

“Providing progressive workplace policies communicates a company’s acknowledgement of the barriers for women and a willingness to remove them. This helps with short- and long-term diversity hiring goals and contributes to a better organisation for everyone,” Ms Lloyd explains.

Greater transparency

Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012) voices the strongest demand for transparency among respondents. By 2025, this generation is projected to constitute one-fourth of all employees.

Eighty-six per cent of respondents expressed the need to understand employers’ strategies for eliminating or sustaining wage parity between genders. This figure represents a 5% increase compared to the previous year. However, 55% of respondents indicated they would still consider applying for a job with a significant gender pay gap, provided that the company demonstrated a commitment to addressing the issue.

The concept of “pay transparency” can instil apprehension in HR professionals and leadership teams. However, with heightened demands from job seekers, particularly younger members of the workforce, and the growing regulations surrounding pay gap reporting, it has become imperative for organisations to confront this issue directly.

The extent of pay transparency might range from publishing gender pay gaps (a legal requirement for many companies in the UK and Australia) to open disclosure of each employee’s salary. The appropriate level of transparency varies based on the workplace. Regardless of the level, women generally want and need policies and practices that facilitate productive discussions about pay.

Discrimination diminishes women’s contributions

Workplace discrimination continues to prohibit women’s full participation, with 46% feeling unable to be their authentic selves in their workplace. This number rises for those facing discrimination against multiple elements of their identity. For example, the number increases to 51% for those with a hidden disability, 52% from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and 72% for those over 56.

The voices in the survey show that prejudices such as ableism, ageism, and racism remain present in the workplace. Sometimes subtle and often overt, those able to stay in such environments are doing so by expending additional energy on overachieving and masking their true identity.

On age discrimination, one respondent said, “I am publicly asked by ‘colleagues’ when I will retire and made to feel that my work adds little value and has no skill.”

A final word: be mindful of stereotypes and tokenism

There is still a general presumption that women will and should sacrifice their careers to become the primary parents, and this is holding progress back.

“It is still quite normal for policies to be ‘mother'-centric even when the language used is gender neutral ... It feels that many of these policies have just replaced the word mother/maternity with ‘Primary carer’ and left it at that.

Respondents noted concerns when it came to perceived tokenism. Tokenism is the superficial inclusion of individuals from under-represented groups without meaningful involvement or genuine efforts to address diversity or inclusion.

A WORK180 DEI expert stated, “In DEI efforts, the risk of tokenism arises when symbolic gestures toward under-represented communities overshadow the substantive changes needed for true inclusion and diversity. The intersection of concerns regarding tokenism with a genuine apprehension about unfair treatment emphasises the crucial need for transparency: openly sharing opportunities, clarifying hiring criteria, and fostering an inclusive culture where everyone feels safe to contribute ensures that concerns can be addressed constructively. This is critical to promote a sustainable, diverse, and equitable environment.”

To download the full report, visit the WORK180 website here: