Women: an all-important resource for human talent

1839 Mississippi grants women the right to hold property
1869 Wyoming passes first suffrage law
1890 Wyoming gives women right to vote in all elections
1900 Every state has Married Women’s Property Act
1920 19 th Amendment to the US Constitution: women can vote
1963 Equal Pay Act passed by Congress
1964 Title VII of Civil Rights Act: gender is a protected class
1969 Women meeting physical requirements can hold men’s jobs
1974 It is illegal to force pregnant women to take maternity leave
1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act passed
1981 US Supreme Court: excluding women from draft is constitutional
1997 College athletic programs must equally include men and women

Women Men
Not working full-time/ 1 in 3 1 in 20 with MBA
% who opt out 37 24
Age 25-29 87% 100%
Age 40-44 71% 100%
With ambition 33% 50%
Growth rate of graduate degrees 16% 1.3%

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Why Women Leave
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Why Reentry is Difficult
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The Penalties of Time-out
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The Scenic Route
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Downsizing Ambition

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Women
Family time 44%
Earn a degree/other training 23%
Work not enjoyable/satisfying 17%
Moved away 17%
Change careers 16%
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Men
Change careers 29%
Earn a degree/other training 25%
Work not enjoyable/satisfying 24%
Not interested in field 18%
Family time 12%

Reasons
43% For enjoyment and satisfaction
38% Household income no longer sufficient
24% Desire to give something back to the community
16% Regain power and status
Statistics
93% want to return
74% manage to do so
40% return to full-time jobs
24% take part-time jobs
9% become self-employed

82% ability to associate with people they respect
79% freedom to be themselves
64% opportunity to be flexible with schedule
61% opportunity to collaborate with others
56% give back to the community
51% recognition from the company

82% have reduced hours
64% have flexible work arrangements
54% change field
35% remove stigma
5% return to same company

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Reduced-Hour Jobs
Flexibility in the Day
Flexibility in the Arc of a Career
Removing the Stigma
Stopping Burning Bridges
Providing Outlets
Nurturing Ambition

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Why do women leave careers after having invested heavily in developing skills?
Would men leave their careers if they ahd a spouse who was earning enough?
What would employers have to do? How would the other women (and the men) be affected?
Why do more women work part-time than men?
What are the costs and benefits of having part-time employees?
What are the risks of this kind of policies?
Are women more likely to leave a job than men?