Gender Gaps? Men and Women at Work
Last month, the HBR released an article called 'How Women Can Win in the Workplace'. Despite women outperforming men throughout education, this has never translated into the workforce - with more men being promoted at every level.
The article says where women start their career is vital. You need to pick the right industry - not just role - to maximise 'experience capital' - the knowledge and skills learnt on the job. So where should women be looking?
Where do women like the idea of working?
As part of our employer brand data analysis, we compared appeal scores across industries:
✅ Sectors equally appealing to men and women:
1. Gaming, Betting & Entertainment
2. Technology
3. Alcohol Companies
Where don't women like the idea of working?
⚠️ Sectors with significant gender appeal gaps - that women like the idea of a lot less than men:
1. Airports & Transport
2. Media & Telecommunications
3. Energy & Utilities
But these perceptions of different industries don't reflect the reality.
The differences in appeal between sectors didn't track how happy women actually are.
So we took a look at the data for happiness, engagement, tenure and intent to leave across a range of sectors - and the results were surprising...
Where are women actually happiest?
- Science stands out as the most challenging sector for women: lower happiness, lower engagement, and higher turnover.
- Law is the most gender-progressive: high happiness and engagement among women, and minimal gaps compared to men.
- Women in technology, law, and leisure report the highest overall happiness.
The Question of Leadership
Whilst we were examining differences between men and women, another interesting piece of data emerged. Leadership emerges as a critical point of divergence in employer brand tracking.
When we ask people why they left their jobs, a clear gender gap appears:
27.61% of women cite poor leadership as a reason for leaving, compared to 15.71% of men.
But when looking at those planning to leave, that gap disappears – with around 15% of both men and women pointing to leadership as a factor.
So why the sudden jump? Why do so many more women leave because of leadership when they weren't planning on it?
This 13% spike suggests that poor leadership disproportionately drives unexpected exits for women – indicating a deeper breakdown in culture or support that employer brand strategies often miss.
It's a warning signal: leadership failures may be pushing women out before they anticipated.
An Old Boys Club?
When it comes to job search behaviours, Wisdom’s Employer Brand Data shows a clear divide between men and women.
Women are significantly more likely to find roles through online job boards, while men disproportionately use LinkedIn. One reason may be that women are more frequently in part-time roles - potentially making job boards a more accessible route.
But referral rates are where the gap widens most. According to our Employer Brand Tracking:
- Women are 32.92% less likely to have been referred to their job by friends or their network.
- They’re 41.26% less likely to have been referred by an employee at the company.
Global Trends
But - encouragingly - this seems to be much less of a problem in other geographies. Wisdom’s Employer Brand Data reveals these gaps look very different in Canada and the EU than they do in the UK.
- In Canada, women are 16.12% less likely than men to be referred by friends or their network, and 25% less likely to be referred by existing employees.
- In the EU, the gap is similar for personal networks (16.74% less likely) and much narrower for employee referrals — just 10% less likely.
These numbers suggest that while gender-based gaps persist in Canada and the EU, they’re not as pronounced as in the UK - and there's policies that can make a difference.
Check out Wisdom's LinkedIn to see our series on Women In Work
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