WOODSIDE, Calif., June 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RedThread Research proudly announces the release of its latest study – Leveling the Field: Making Performance Management Work for Women – which offers an in-depth analysis of how corporate approaches to the performance of women still fall short of the mark and what can be done to better level the playing field. Along with this study, RedThread also delivers a second report, The Double-Double Shift: Supporting Women’s Performance Management During a Pandemic – that presents a very realistic look at how the COVID-19 global pandemic is impacting the ways women are perceived during this new work-from-home environment, as well as the additional challenges they now face. (The latter article was made possible as a result of the financial sponsorship provided by Workhuman®, the world’s fastest-growing social recognition and continuous performance management platform.)
Project leader, Stacia Sherman Garr, Co-Founder & Principal Analyst, focused this holistic research on the following two questions:
- Are the changes to modern performance management practices resulting in women and men having the same experience?
- And, if not, then what are the differences and what can organizations do about them?
Despite recent attempts by some organizations to modernize their performance management (PM) processes, Garr’s research showed overwhelmingly that gender bias in PM practices and subsequent lack of opportunities for women’s advancement is, even today, still prevalent in the business world.
As Garr stated, “Our research shows, while performance management appears to be fair and equal on the surface, when you dig below that surface you find statistically significant differences between how women and men experience performance practices. Among the five major findings of our research, the #1 conclusion is: Modern performance management, though it’s better than previous approaches, is still experienced unequally by women.”
“As detailed in our new report,” Garr continued, “we further explain our key findings and detail how organizations can identify and remedy this PM gender imbalance. We also developed a ready-to-use self-assessment that organizations can take to better identify areas of gender bias, referring back to our recommendations and guidance in the report.”
But not stopping there, especially given the current global pandemic, Garr and her team dug more deeply into the challenges confronting women and their performance today with the following questions:
- How might the unconscious biases women already face worsen in – and be mitigated by – a long-term work-from-home environment?
- Given what we know about how to make performance management more equitable for women, how might we alter our practices in this current environment to level the playing field?
- How can leaders address these challenges now, before less effective practices solidify in this new working environment?
“Women who are also mothers are very seriously at risk with the changes to their work and home lives as a result of COVID-19,” Garr pointed out. “For example, we know women with children are 47% more likely than men with children to have permanently lost or quit their jobs since February 2020. The additional pressures on women can be seen by how women with children are dedicating 2.3 hours more per day on childcare than fathers and 1.7 hours more per day on housework than fathers, on average. Our research thinks through the implications of this new reality for women, given the current work-from-home environment.”
Founded in 2018 by veteran industry analysts, Stacia Sherman Garr and Dani Johnson, RedThread Research focuses on the talent-related areas of diversity & inclusion, HR technology, learning & career, people analytics, performance, and employee engagement/experience. These two veteran analysts, along with their team of highly experienced professionals, are connecting critical data, stories, and leaders to help organizations address their most critical people challenges.
As Garr summarized, “RedThread Research’s method of holistically approaching topics enables us to look at the subject from all directions – while identifying the problem, offering analytical guidance and data-based solutions, and the tools necessary to manage the issue. This research builds on our knowledge coming from more than a decade of study of performance management.”
About RedThread Research
At RedThread Research, we get it.
Sure, we’re experts in performance, people analytics, learning, and D&I – and we’re well versed in the technologies that support them. But we’re also truth-seekers and storytellers in an industry often short on substance, and too full of #!%. Our mission (indeed, our very reason for existing) is to cut through the noise, and amplify what’s good. We look for the connections (or red threads) between people, data, and ideas – even among seemingly unrelated concepts. The result is high-quality, unbiased, transformative foresight that helps you build a stronger business.
About Workhuman
Workhuman® helps forward-thinking companies energize their cultures, unlock their employees’ passion and potential, and unite their workforce around a shared purpose. As the world’s fastest-growing social recognition and continuous performance management platform, our mission is to lead the movement to celebrate the power of humanity in the workplace through gratitude and peer-to-peer recognition. Workhuman® Cloud, a suite of human applications, uncovers provocative workplace data and human insights, delivering tangible results powered by our core belief — that the more motivated and valued employees are, the more they can perform the best work of their lives. Workhuman was founded in 1999 and is co-headquartered in Dublin, Ireland and Framingham, Mass. Learn more at www.workhuman.com