But
what about hybrid work arrangements, where some employees are
co-located and others are remote? Will these be good for women’s careers
— their opportunities for promotion, advancement, and progression?
First,
let’s more clearly define what we mean by hybrid work and distinguish
between two types that are quite distinct but often conflated.
Hybrid
work arrangements can be configured in two very different ways, which I
call “flexible hybrid” and “fixed hybrid.” In a flexible hybrid system,
the same employee is sometimes co-located and sometimes remote, so
their location changes throughout a typical workweek. In a fixed hybrid
system, some employees are always co-located while others are always
remote, and their locations don’t change throughout the week.
Why
does this distinction matter? I believe we can be cautiously optimistic
about how women will fare in a flexible hybrid system, where they work
remotely some of the time but in the office at least some of the time.
On the other hand, though, there are pretty compelling reasons to be
less optimistic about how women will fare in a fixed hybrid system,
where they work remotely full-time while at least some of their
colleagues are co-located. Especially here, leaders must be aware that
women risk being doubly disadvantaged by working remotely in a hybrid system.
The Double Disadvantage
Extensive
research findings have established that women are often disadvantaged
relative to men in the workplace. There’s currently less research about
the effects of working remotely, but it’s becoming clear that hybrid
work arrangements often create power differences
between those who are in and out of the office, and there are good
reasons to expect that people who work remotely are likely to be
disadvantaged, regardless of their gender. So, women who work remotely
can find themselves disadvantaged in two ways.
Here are three key sources of this double disadvantage:
Access to mentoring and sponsorship
Studies have shown that mentoring relationships and powerful sponsors are critical for getting ahead in firms, but women often find it harder
to build networks and develop advocates who will strongly support them
in their careers. At the same time, working remotely makes it harder to
develop mentoring or sponsorship relationships, because you’re less
visible to those who might take an interest in your welfare and
advancement. There are fewer opportunities to connect informally or
strengthen relationships by popping by for advice or going out for
lunch.
Assumptions about commitment
Women are often assumed to be less committed to their work and careers than men, especially if they’re mothers, as research on stereotypes confirms. Sometimes, women are encouraged to take accommodations that can derail their careers,
such as moving to part-time work. Meanwhile, working remotely increases
their risk of being viewed as less committed than their in-office
colleagues, since their hard work away from the office is less visible
to their peers and managers.
Speaking up — and being heard
Women
sometimes find it harder to speak up in meetings or to their bosses
than men, especially in male-dominated workplaces, and they may not be
(or fear that they will not be) listened to as carefully or taken as
seriously, making their workplaces feel less psychologically safe.
Separately, people who work remotely can find it harder to speak up or
be heard regardless of their gender, especially when not everyone is
remote, since it can be even more difficult to interject a comment at
the right moment or raise an unpopular point than when sitting together in the same room. These problems can compound each other, so it’s perhaps not surprising that a Catalyst survey
of more than 1,000 U.S. working adults found that 45% of women business
leaders reported that it’s difficult for women to speak up in virtual
meetings, and 20% of women said they had felt ignored or overlooked by
their colleagues during video calls.
Recognizing the Risks
Clearly,
the risks of double disadvantage are most acute in a fixed hybrid
system, where women who work remotely full-time very rarely or never
spend time with their colleagues in person. These risks are likely to be
less acute in a flexible hybrid system, where the challenges of working
remotely can be at least partially overcome by increased opportunities
to build networks and develop mentors, more ways to demonstrate
commitment visibly, and lower barriers to speaking up during the periods
of co-located work.
Of
course, some women might still find working remotely to be a very
attractive option for the way they want to live their lives, despite
understanding the potential risks to their career goals and prospects.
Others may be unaware of the double disadvantage they face, or discount
their relevance or dangers for themselves. Either way, these
disadvantages still exist. So, for women who choose to work remotely,
how can the potential risks to their careers and advancement be
minimized?
The Responsibility Should Be Shared
Fortunately, there is lots of good advice out there
for how women can build their careers, and mounting insight into how to
be successful when working remotely. Because of the double disadvantage
they face in hybrid settings, women who work remotely need to be
especially aware of the potential risks they run — and especially active
in addressing them. They should push themselves to step forward and take
— for example, by asking for the resources they need, including
mentoring, and increasing their efforts to be visible by finding ways to
demonstrate commitment and opportunities to speak up and be heard.
At
the same time, it’s critical that the burden should not fall solely on
the shoulders of those women who are at a potential double disadvantage
from working remotely. To help reduce the risks they face, their
colleagues who work in the office also have a responsibility to step back and give — to offer resources to those working remotely, create opportunities for them to be visible, and so on.
Managers also have an important role: to create and maintain balance
between those who are working remotely and those who are in the office,
by recognizing the inequalities in their resources and visibility and
making concerted efforts to offset them.
Finally,
at the highest levels of the organization, senior leaders need to think
very carefully not only about the types of hybrid working arrangements
they’ll permit (i.e., flexible or fixed), but also about whether these
could have unintended negative consequences for women (or anyone) over
time. To avoid such consequences, they should design and implement
policies and practices that can help level the playing field, such as
annual-review criteria that don’t depend on face time and formal
mentoring programs that don’t rely on personal connections. And of
course, it’s always good practice when putting in place such important
and far-reaching arrangements as hybrid working to schedule formal times
to revisit them in the future, thoroughly review how well they’re
serving all concerned, and modify them as necessary.
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