High-Flying Women Shift Gears in the Recession - Sylvia Ann Hewlett - HarvardBusiness.org

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High-Flying Women Shift Gears in the Recession

A voluntary migration is sweeping through the financial sector.

On Sunday, April 12, a front-page story in the New York Times documented a Wall Street exodus that goes beyond layoffs to voluntary exits by top talent fleeing to boutique firms, start-ups and elsewhere.

This trend is disturbingly true for women.

At five top financial firms, twice as many women in top jobs (54%) as men (22%) are considering leaving their positions, according to recent data from the Center for Work-Life Policy. What's noteworthy is why women are headed out, and where they are going.

Today's voluntary attrition is not about women being uncommitted to their careers or wanting more family time. On the contrary, our data shows that less than a quarter of the high-performing women who "had one foot out the door" in December 2008 planned to leave the workforce to stay home. The majority were recalibrating goals and shifting to other sectors.

The fact is this recession has made high echelon jobs in the financial sector less desirable for women. Once venerable brand-name organizations are losing their luster amid sagging revenue, mass layoffs, bailouts, cost cuts, bad PR and low morale. The psychological and emotional perks that once helped balance the time commitments of high pressure "extreme" jobs in the financial sector are waning.

For female talent this phenomenon is a very big deal. Companies that fail to deliver respect or pride — and jobs that fail to deliver meaning or purpose — are the equivalent of a cut in pay for many high-flying women. They want jobs that make them feel good about going to work and putting in a 12-hour day. Thus, in this environment, many top ranked women on Wall Street are bailing — pulling up stakes ...

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http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/hewlett/2009/04/highflying_women_shift_gears_i.html

http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/hewlett/2009/04/highflying_women_shift_gears_i.html