Balls publically backed Project 28-40, recently launched by Opportunity Now, Business in the Community’s gender diversity campaign.
The survey aims to record the views of 100,000 women to find out why women are not promoted at the same rate as men.
"We still have a long way to go to achieve true equality in the workplace for women," Balls said. "So I…urge women in businesses across the UK to add their voices to this survey in order to be as representative as possible. Let's beat the target of 100,000 women's voices so we can help push policy makers to understand the challenge and rise to it."
First findings
The survey has already been completed by 14,000 women. The initial findings reveal some of the barriers women face to career progression.
They include:
- 81% of women feel having children will affect their career progression
- 72% feel conflicted in their ability to balance family and career
- 69% say society expects women to put family before their career
- 91% believe senior roles involve pressure, long hours and high stress levels
- 63% feel flexible working still means long hours.
Kathryn Nawrockyi, director of Opportunity Now, said: “The early results of the survey highlight a conundrum that many women face: they want to work and develop their careers, but they often perceive the sacrifices and pressures as too great. These early indications show that there remain serious issues that need tackling.”
