EXPERIENCES

We still have progress to make, but women are determined to keep progressing.

Jaime Barclay

March 8, 2023 | 2 min read

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March 8th is International Women's Day—a day to celebrate all the incredible women who inspire us and think about the areas where we as a society still have change we need to make. One of the areas where this is most prevalent is in business—a space with lots of concentrated power and plenty of inequity. 

Yet in spite of these problems, we're still indisputably headed in the right direction as women continue to demand fair treatment. Our job now is to accelerate that progress. With that in mind, we wanted to get a sense of where things stand for women in the workforce today, and did some research with CNBC to learn more. Here are three findings that stood out. 

1. Many women (41%) don't know about the new laws requiring public salary ranges. 

New laws in California, Washington, and Rhode Island add to the list of states that require companies to put their cards on the table when it comes to pay ranges for open roles.

The fact that so many women are unaware of these changes is important, because it could be inhibiting women's ability to negotiate. In fact, only 12% of women say that they have ever used a published salary range to secure a raise for themselves. 

We should all let the women in our lives know about these ranges—fairness and equality are the whole reason that these laws exist. 

2. More than half of women are burned out at work. 

It's been a tough few years economically and socially, and it's taking a toll on women's work life happiness. Over half of women who work (56%) say that their mental health suffers to the point of burnout because of their job all or some of the time. 

Some of it is simple volume of work—24% of women report working more hours per week than they were a year ago—and some of it is generally feeling overwhelmed. 

Clearly, this isn’t a sustainable way for women to be living and working. What can we do to support women better? How can we as a society promote greater balance?

3. Most women—especially women of color—are ambitious.  

But there is also some good news to celebrate when it comes to women’s conditions at work right now. About (48%) of women describe themselves as “very ambitious” when it comes to their career, and ambition is still highest among Black women workers, two-thirds (64%) of whom describe themselves as “very ambitious.” Fifty-two percent of Latinas say the same.

Women are hungry to accomplish more with their lives, and we are constantly seeing them make new accomplishments in politics, business, and every other field. It’s important to remember that in spite of the inequities we are still working against, there’s still much to be optimistic about. Here’s to continued progress in 2023 and beyond.