Although women in Poland declare a desire for professional development, their aspirations more often end at managerial level. Only 6% of female professionals would like to become CEOs – this is one of the more telling indicators of the Hays Poland report ‘Women on the labour market 2025. DE&I policy in practice‘. In comparison, men are far more likely to equate success with taking on a director or board member role.
However, it is not a lack of ambition, but differences in starting conditions and difficulties along the way. More than half of women (57%) say they have experienced barriers to their career because of their gender. This most often manifests itself in favouring men for promotions. Only 37% of women are convinced that gender does not affect promotion opportunities – among men, this percentage is as high as 68%.
The manager’s ceiling of ambition?
Thirty per cent of women consider taking on a management position to be a career success. At director level, this figure drops to 28%, and only 6% for the CEO role. This is a marked difference to men, who are more likely to associate success with high levels of management and global responsibilities.
What is the reason for this? On the one hand, the lack of access to mentoring and support networks. Women are more likely than men not to apply for positions if they do not meet all the requirements. On the other – from a more demanding environment. They are still in the minority on boards of directors, which means that every female candidate is cutting corners and has to prove her worth under more pressure.
Elections under pressure
Even when women have ambitions, they often calculate whether achieving them will affect other aspects of their lives. 59% acknowledge that balancing work and raising children is a real challenge. The main problems are not being able to participate fully in their children’s lives and having to constantly choose between family and work. Among men, this experience is declared by 33%.
These figures do not mean that women do not want to advance. Rather, they point to systemic constraints – cultural, organisational and social – that make the cost of getting to the top seem too high. As a result, women are more likely to stay where they still have the balance.
Regression or stagnation of DE&I policy?
Although the number of companies with diversity policies in place is increasing, confidence in their effectiveness is declining. Both women and men are less likely than a year ago to declare that opportunities for promotion and remuneration do not depend on gender. According to experts, this is the result of an organisation’s focus on performance during a period of economic uncertainty – DE&I is receding into the background.
This is a warning signal. True equality does not end with declarations or job structures. It requires an ongoing commitment – including when it is more convenient to put it off.
