Women Value Different Job Characteristics Than Men

This month’s focus is balance and this month is Women’s History Month. This column focuses on “balance” as the top factor for women in job search. In a Gallup poll taken in October of 13,000 US workers, the top factor out of 5 for women was “allows for greater work-life balance and better personal wellbeing.” This surprised human resource directors who assumed wages and benefits were the most important factor.

I wonder how much the pandemic-imposed isolation influenced this value ranking? Sixty-six percent of women ranked balance “very important” compared with 56% of men, and men ranked it second to increased income and benefits with 63% ranking it “very important.”

There was another big difference between men and women on the survey. Women ranked “diverse and inclusive” as their number 5 factor with 52% of women ranking it “very important.” This characteristic didn’t make it into the top 5 for men.

I think these differences show a marked difference between the values of average men and women. Women may value the quality of life higher than material benefits. I’d like a conversation about that, between men and women.

Don’t take my word for these statistics. Check out the primary reference:

https://www.gallup.com/workplace/390275/recruiting-women-takes-more-than-competitive-pay.aspx

Submitted by Teresa Wilmot