In ways good and bad, 2018 was a big year for women. A record-breaking number of women ran for office—and won. Trailblazing women around the world became “the first.” Countries and companies took important steps to support women and families. At the same time, there’s no question that we’re still a long way from equality. To get a better sense of what 2018 represented for women’s progress, we took a closer look at one realm in particular: work. What happens in the workplace tells us a lot about whether women are gaining power and opportunity—or whether we’re frozen in place or falling behind.

1. The state
of women
at work

2. Women are underrepresented at
every level in corporate America—
and it’s not changing

3. Source: Women in the Workplace
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Entry Level Manager Sr Manager/
Director
VP SVP C-Suite
EQUALITY
2015
Men
Women

4. Source: Women in the Workplace
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Entry Level Manager Sr Manager/
Director
VP SVP C-Suite
EQUALITY
2016
Men
Women

5. Source: Women in the Workplace
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Entry Level Manager Sr Manager/
Director
VP SVP C-Suite
EQUALITY
2017
Men
Women

6. Source: Women in the Workplace
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Entry Level Manager Sr Manager/
Director
VP SVP C-Suite
EQUALITY
2018
Men
Women

7. 1 in 5 C-suite leaders
is a woman…
Source: Women in the Workplace; Image: Daly and Newton/OJO Images/Getty Images

8. And only 1 in 25 is a
woman of color
Source: Women in the Workplace; Image: Peathegee Inc/Getty Images

9. Old-school explanations don’t hold up

10. Source: Source: Women in the Workplace; Image: Hero Images/Hero Images/Getty Images
Women are
not leaving

11. Source: Women in the Workplace; Image: 10’000 Hours/DigitalVision/Getty Images
Women are
asking for more

12. Women are doing their part—but
the system is failing them

13. For every 100
men hired into
entry-level
positions...
Source: Women in the Workplace

14. 85 women
are hired
Source: Women in the Workplace

15. For every 100
men promoted
to manager…
Source: Women in the Workplace

16. 79 women are
promoted
Source: Women in the Workplace

17. And 60 Black
women are
promoted
Source: Women in the Workplace

18. Men outnumber women as managers
68%
32%
Source: Women in the Workplace

19. “My manager helps me navigate
organizational politics”
Less support
from managers
Allmen
Allwomen
Whitewomen
Latinas
Lesbianwomen
41%
37%
39%
32%
30%
25%
35%
Black
women
Asianwomen
Source: Women in the Workplace

20. “I’ve NEVER had an informal
interaction with a senior leader”
Fewer
interactions with
senior leaders
Allmen
Allwomen
Whitewomen
Asianwomen
Latinas
Blackwomen
Lesbianwomen
40%
49%
47%
45%
54%
59%
47%
Source: Women in the Workplace

21. 64% experience
microaggressions
Source: Women in the Workplace; Image: Almay Images

22. Twice as likely
to be mistaken
for someone
more junior
Source: Women in the Workplace; Image: RichVintage/E+/Getty Images

23. Twice as likely to
need to provide
more evidence of
their competence
Source: Women in the Workplace; Image: Image Source/Image Source/Getty Images

24. 1.5 times more likely
to be addressed in a
less-than-professional
way
Source: Women in the Workplace; Image: Geraint Rowland Photography/Moment/Getty Images

25. of women in corporate America
have been sexually harassed
35%
Source: Women in the Workplace

26. 90% 88%
of women in the
restaurant industry
of women
construction workers
Source: Harvard Business Review, National Women’s Law Center

27. 1 in 5 women
are “Onlys”
Source: Women in the Workplace; Image: MATJAZ SLANIC/E+/Getty Images

28. 81% experience
microaggressions
Source: Women in the Workplace; Image: Street Spoken/John Wallace

29. 56%of women “Onlys” have
been sexually harassed
Source: Women in the Workplace

30. Here’s the kicker: too many people
are satisfied with the status quo

31. When 1 in 10 senior leaders is a woman…
Source: Women in the Workplace

32. …almost half of
men think
women are well
represented
45%
Source: Women in the Workplace

33. …and about a
quarter of women
think women are
well represented
28%
Source: Women in the Workplace

34. Only about half of
employees are
committed to
gender diversity
Source: Women in the Workplace; Image: PeopleImages/E+/Getty Images

35. Women are outnumbered in
other places, too

36. Source: The White House; Image: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images News
Women hold 5 out of
19 positions in the
Trump administration

37. Source: The World Bank; Image: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Europe
Worldwide, women hold
24% of seats in parliaments

38. Women lead 13
of 195 countries
Source: Based on hand calculations by LeanIn.Org researcher, February 6, 2019

39. Source: Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics; Image: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images News
4 of 113 Supreme Court
justices have been women

40. Source: Catalyst; Image: Helen King/Corbis/Getty Images
Women hold 21% of
board seats in the U.S.

41. Women-founded
startups received
2% of venture
money
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
Venture money
$
$
$
$
Source: TechCrunch

42. Women directed
4% of top-grossing
movies
Top-grossing movies
Source: USC Annenberg and the Annenberg Foundation

43. Women were
awarded 15% of
scientific prizes
Scientific awards
Source: The Conversation

44. 23%
Women
77%
Women
Teachers Superintendents
Education
Source: Education Week, Bellwether Education Partners

45. 14%
Women
31%
Women
Farmers Principal operators
Agriculture
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture

46. 19%
Women
60%
Women
Food prep workers Chefs
Restaurants
Source: DATA USA, Rewards Network

47. Source: USA Today; Image: Razvan Chisu/500Px Plus/Getty Images
Women are paid
20% less than
men in the U.S.

48. Source: UN Women; Image: Jasmin Merdan/Moment/Getty Images
Women are paid
23% less globally

49. years to close the gender pay
gap globally
Source: The Guardian
202

50. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics; Image: JodiJacobson/E+/Getty Images
In the U.S., nearly
two-thirds of
minimum wage
workers are women

51. Source: National Women’s Law Center; Image: Ben Bloom/Photodisc/Getty Images
And 1 in 8 women
live in poverty in
the U.S.

52. All of this is set against a backdrop
of global inequality

53. Source: World Hunger; Image: Spencer Platt/Getty Images News
Half a billion women
and girls lack
sufficient nutrition

54. Source: The World Bank; Image: Spencer Platt/Getty Images Europe
Over 15 million
girls will never
set foot in school

55. Source: The United Nations; Image: Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images AsiaPac
49 countries have
no laws protecting
women from
domestic violence

56. Source: The United Nations; Image: delihayat/E+/Getty Images
39 countries don’t
allow women to inherit
property equally

57. Source: World Economic Forum; Image: Ulet Ifansasti /Getty Images AsiaPac
18 countries allow
husbands to legally
prevent their wives
from working

58. The good news:
We took many steps forward in 2018

59. Source: Quartz; Image: Scott Eisen/Getty Images News
Nearly 4,000 women
ran in federal and
state-wide races

60. Source: The Washington Post; Image: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images News
Women won 102
House seats…

61. Source: The Washington Post; Image: Zach Gibson/Getty Images News
14 Senate seats…

62. Source: The Washington Post; Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images News
And 9
governorships…

63. Their diversity is
record-breaking too
Source: The New York Times; Images: Alex Wong, Whitney Curtis, Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images News, Jamey Guy/Minnesota Monthly

64. Now the 2020 presidential race is on!
Source: WGBH; Images: Aaron P. Bernstein, Chip Somodevilla, Drew Angerer, Mason Trinca/Getty Images News

65. Around the world,
policy makers are stepping up

66. Source: The New York Times; Image: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North America
Illinois finally
ratified the Equal
Rights Amendment

67. Source: NPR; Image: Andrea_Hill/DigitalVision Vectors/Getty Images
California became
the first state to
require that women
serve on boards

68. Source: Bloomberg; Image: KARRASTOCK/Moment/Getty Images
Iceland showed
leadership on
closing the pay gap

69. Source: Telesur
El Salvador passed a
law to protect women
from violence at work

70. Source: The Guardian; Image: Sean Gallup/Getty Images News
Saudi Arabia
made it legal for
women to drive

71. Source: Vox; Image: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images Europe
Ireland overturned
an amendment
banning abortion

72. Source: Time; Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News
Twenty corporations
improved paid leave
for hourly workers

73. Source: Fortune; Image: Adobe London
Adobe achieved
equal pay globally

74. Source: Fortune; Image: Nikki Kahn/Verbatim for LeanIn.Org
P&G pledged equal
representation
behind the camera

75. Hollywood got
tougher on sexual
harassment
Source: Fortune; Image: PGA

76. Source: Fortune; Image: USA Hockey
The USA Women’s
Hockey team won a
major pay increase

77. Source: The New York Times; Image: Vogue
The U.S. Open made
a change for moms

78. Many women became “the first”

79. Source: The New York Times; Image: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images News
Tammy Duckworth
became the first
U.S. Senator to
give birth in office

80. Source: The Guardian; Image: Phillip Faraone/Getty Images Entertainment
Stacey Cunningham
became the first woman
to head the New York
Stock Exchange

81. Source: CNN; Image: U.S. Army
Laura Richardson became
the first woman to lead
the largest U.S. Army
command

82. Source: Marie Claire; Image: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images Entertainment
Ava DuVernay
became the highest-
grossing Black woman
director in history

83. Source: The Washington Post; Image: Getty Images News
Kendall Coyne
Schofield was the first
woman to compete in
the NHL All-Star skills
competition

84. Source: The Washington Post; Image: Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images Europe
Angela Ponce became
the first transgender
woman to compete in the
Miss Universe Pageant

85. Source: Earther; Image: Cultbizztech
Greta Thunberg
launched the first-ever
school strike for climate

86. Never doubt that a small group of
thoughtful, dedicated citizens can
change the world. Indeed, it is the
only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead

87. Special thanks to
This presentation contains stock photographs, for
illustrative purposes only, and does not show persons
who have actually experienced the events or
situations addressed.
Images on cover: Ian Ross Pettigrew/Moment/Getty Images, Morsa Images/DigitalVision/Getty Images, Tara Moore/DigitalVision/Getty Images