8. March 2024

Ambitious. Qualified. Overlooked!

New study on women's careers: Blind spot in the promotion of young talent

A new study by Advance in collaboration with the auditing and consulting firm EY in Switzerland and the Competence Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI-HSG) of the University of St.Gallen (HSG) refutes the popular opinion that Swiss women are generally not interested in careers (see debate triggered by the study by Katja Rost and Margit Osterloh, 2022). The authors surveyed over 1,200 working women and came to a surprisingly clear result: over 90% of respondents want to develop their careers and aspire to a management position. However, if they are over 40, they are often passed over.

Transparency - not just at the top - but on the way to the top is important if there is to be an informed discussion about the potential of domestic managers and specialists, particularly with regard to gender diversity. A new study has now uncovered a blind spot: Women 40+.

Women are still few and far between on management boards. In view of the so-called "leaks" in the female talent pipelines, this is not surprising. One of the main reasons for these "leaks" is of a structural nature: as soon as families are started - usually around the age of 30 - one of the two partners reduces their workload. In Switzerland, this is usually still the woman.

Promotion of young talent according to a linear age model ignores women over 40

These days, well-educated women rarely interrupt their careers. They remain in the labour market and often hold lower to middle management positions (67% of respondents). However, they do not conform to the conventional career norm, which favours 100% workloads for promotion processes (Gender Intelligence Report 2023: Only 4% of all those promoted work less than 80%). As a result, women in the 40+ age group are often several career steps behind men. This does not mean that they therefore lack the leadership potential to reach the upper echelons of management. However, according to the study, their age means that they fall off the radar when it comes to promoting young talent and are simply no longer recognised.

Unrealised potential for more women at the top

Over 90% of the women surveyed, 67% of whom have management and/or leadership experience, say that they want to progress in their careers and aspire to a higher management position. At 40+, the family situation generally allows women to increase their workload to 80-100%. The underemployment rate, which peaks at 9.2% for women aged 40-54, also shows that many want to do this. For men in the same age group, it is only 2.1% (FSO 2023). "We see huge potential here for female managers who will remain in the labour market for over 20 years," says Alkistis Petropaki, Managing Director of Advance. "If we want to seriously promote young female talent, we need to offer these ambitious and well-qualified women real opportunities for advancement."

Robin Errico, Chief Risk Officer and DE&I Officer at EY in Switzerland, comments on the study: "Women over 40 aspire to management positions, but are often overlooked. The whitepaper study argues for a rethink and offers practical strategies to utilise this existing talent pool."

Theresa Goop, member of the Management Team at CCDI-HSG, adds: "For years, we have seen in the results of the Gender Intelligence Report how impactful the 'rush hours of life' are, especially for women's careers. Our new study shows how much potential there is in the women who have already survived these 'rush hours'."

What needs to be done so that ambitious women 40+ can take off

Most larger companies have talent and young talent development programmes through which they specifically train managers. Traditionally, these programmes focus on the 30-40 age group. The authors of the study recommend three specific measures to harness the potential of women 40+ for diversity in senior management:

• Conscious evaluation of the female workforce: companies should ensure that they know their pool of ambitious women 40+. From this pool, they should specifically nominate female candidates for career development programmes.
• Review talent development and promotion processes: If age plays a role in specific promotion steps, the age range should be extended to women 40+.
• Career sponsorship initiatives for women 40+: Companies that take gender diversity seriously should offer career sponsorship initiatives especially for ambitious women 40+.

The authors

Margit Vunder, Culture, Diversity Equity and Inclusion Lead, EY Switzerland
Dr. Nora Keller, Senior Researcher at the Competence Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI) of the University of St.Gallen
Alkistis Petropaki, Managing Director of Advance

Click below to download the whitepaper study by Advance in collaboration with the auditing and consulting firm EY in Switzerland and the Competence Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI) of the University of St.Gallen (HSG).