Women are breaking up with their jobs, yet CFO equity increases 

New research from LeanIn.org and McKinsey & Company prompted the companies to declare we are amid a “Great Breakup” — women and work are having a difficult moment. 

The 2022 “Women in the Workplace” report collected data from 333 organizations and surveyed more than 40,000 employees to identify these trends:  

• Women leaders are job changing at a faster rate now than anytime since the survey began in 2015 (and at a higher rate than men). 
• Only one in four C-suite leaders is a woman, and only one in 20 is a woman of color. For every woman at a director level who gets promoted, two women are choosing to leave the company. 
• Women leaders are twice as likely as their male counterparts to be mistaken as someone more junior. 

• While 43% of women leaders report being burned out, only 31% of men say the same. 
• As men advance, they do less household labor. Women who advance at work continue to hold the same household burden. 

Why are women in management leaving in exodus? While women are still ambitious, “at many companies they face headwinds that make it harder to advance,” the report says. “It’s increasingly important to women leaders that they work for companies that prioritize flexibility, employee well-being, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.” 

Despite the LeanIn survey results, another study, the Crist Kolder Volatility Report, reveals the number of women CFOs hit an all-time high in 2022 (16%), and has doubled in the past 10 years. While only 8% of CEOs are women, that number is at all-time high. 

To reconcile the data, both scenarios can be true: Women are filling more CFO roles ever, and many capable women are leaving their jobs for a variety of reasons. 

Find more statistics on “Women in the Workforce” at leanin.org/women-in-the-workplace and the Volatility Report at cristkolder.com/volatility-report.