No matter what type of organization women work for, large or small, public or private, their relationships with their immediate bosses are critical to whether they feel engaged and content. The ideal supervisor is committed to his or her subordinates’ advancement and development, assigns stretch projects, and provides necessary support and feedback to help them be successful, Bilimoria says. And workplaces that employ women in higher levels are more apt to retain women at the lower levels.
“There need to be multilevel champions [of women] from the top as well as from the bottom and the middle, because women are more sensitive to dealing with gender bias,” she says.
Workplace initiatives that offer leadership development, mentoring, and networking for women reap the benefits by retaining women, Bilimoria’s research shows.
Interview with Angela Flournoy where she recommends three short stories as the best she has ever read by Junot Diaz (Drown), Edwidge Danticant (Krik? Krak!) and James Baldwin's (Sonny's Blues).
