We talk a lot about the benefits of flexible work for women: it enables new mothers to continue working, boosts productivity and helps close the gender pay gap. However despite the inclusion that flexible work offers women, carers and people with disabilities and neurodivergence, we're still seeing headlines dismissing it as lazy, unproductive and 'a leadership killer.'

We know women want flexible work – but an astonishing 95% of women believe that it will hurt their career progression, according to research from Deloitte's new Women @ Work report. 

And they're not wrong. New data shows that remote workers are 31% less likely to be promoted and 35% more likely to be laid off.

So why aren't women able to progress in their careers, whilst still working in a way that works for them? We explore why there’s a gap between what women want and need from their workplace and how employers are responding.

Flexible working benefits everyone

Since the pandemic unlocked remote and flexible working, that flexibility allows women to pursue their ambitions, balance caring responsibilities and remain in the workforce. 20% of women reported that flexible working allowed them to stay in their jobs or avoid reducing hours, according to McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace report.

As women still do the lion’s share of unpaid labour including housework, childcare and other caring responsibilities, and with women more likely to have chronic pain and health issues, flexible work allows women to have space and better balance of all their obligations.

“It's not just women that want flexibility. Men do too,” Molly Johnson-Jones, CEO of careers platform Flexa, tells AllBright. “Our Flexible Working report revealed a growing interest amongst men for flexible working. As more men embrace flexible working, women are supported more with caregiving responsibilities and it helps normalise flexible working practices. This benefits women in advancing their careers while balancing family life and allows more fathers to be actively involved in parenting,” she said.

Ultimately, flexible working benefits not individuals of marginalised groups including women, people with disabilities and people of colour, but everyone.

How employers are responding

Organisations that have embraced flexible working arrangements for their staff report better employee retention, increased productivity and are more attractive to top talent and ultimately, stronger financial performance and outcomes.

So the case for flexible work should be pretty straightforward right? Well, not quite. 

Despite the evidence underscoring the value of flexible work, many companies are choosing to revert back to full time office mandated work, establish set hours and reduce overall flexibility. A recent survey found that almost one-third of managers admit that the main goal of return-to-office (RTO) mandates was to track employees. Even more shocking: “37% of managers, directors and executives believe their organisation initiated layoffs because fewer employees than they expected quit during their RTO,” the report states.

Beyond the data, employers’ resistance to flexible work is harming women’s careers. 

Louise*, a recruitment director based in Manchester, was the first woman to become a mother at her organisation and take maternity leave. After earning six promotions in six years, Louise found that her company’s set hours in the office from 8am-6pm, five days a week, was incompatible with the nursery run for her newborn.

“Upon return from maternity leave, I went to 4 days a week with shorter days,” Louise tells AllBright. “Because of this I was told I can no longer handle my workload and my male colleague covering my maternity would be staying on and taking over my team who I had line managed, hired and trained. This was devastating.”

For Louise, requesting more flexible working options has set her back years – both her career and her compensation still have yet to recover. “I was moved to set up a new division completely from scratch, which is what I had done at the start of my career. This move lost me £80k per annum in commission, which my male counterpart now enjoys,” she said.

And beyond the concrete setbacks to her career, working flexibly is also casting her out at her company. “As I was no longer in the office five days a week, I have been unofficially removed from senior leadership – I’m no longer invited to meetings or part of the decision making process. There is a refusal to schedule meetings during the two days a week I worked in the office and I was told it’s ‘too difficult’ to call me remotely,” she said. Louise has since reverted back to five days a week at the office – but nothing has improved.

Unfortunately, even if an organisation is more culturally ready to embrace flexible working, it doesn’t always equal empowerment.

Sarah* worked for a social justice organisation in Ireland, which implemented a four-day work week. “At the same time, I was given two more clients to manage so essentially my workload doubled overnight. I was now expected to do it in four days instead of five,” Sarah tells AllBright. 

Ultimately for Sarah, her flexible working arrangement without proper support became untenable – and she voluntarily went back to working five days a week before eventually burning out and leaving.

“I severely struggled for a whole year, the workload was too much to handle. I was treated horrendously by one colleague for taking the day that was given to me, who once said she ‘doesn't believe in time off’. I tried to do as much as I could whilst retaining boundaries and looking after my mental health and not working longer hours than I was being paid for. The extra day wasn't worth the shit I was getting weekly for taking it,” she said.

How to remove the barriers of flexible work on career progression for women

So why is flexible working perceived to harm women’s career progression? 

“Because anyone not working in the ‘normal’ way is perceived as less committed, sadly,” said Molly. “We have proximity bias and believe that the people we can see working are working hardest. That’s why it’s vital that we move to an output focused performance measurement system, rather than relying on presence.”

Molly also shared her advice for senior leaders to enable true flexible working for their organisations:

1. Set the right flex

Offer flexibility as standard and be clear about your stance so that people can make an educated decision about whether your company is right for them.

2. Normalise it

Not expecting people to provide a reason for why they need to work flexibly normalises it. Afford trust and autonomy first and see how people react, rather than assuming that people can’t be trusted.

3. Make it measurable

Refocus your performance measurements on KPIs and output based results, not presence based performance measurement which is very influenced by bias.

4. Get the men involved

Encourage men to work flexibly too and ensure male senior leadership role model flexibility.

5. Model behaviour

Ensure that female role models are highly visible in your organisation at all levels.

*indicates name has been changed