Female employees – particularly those working in management – are twice as likely to see their gender as a barrier to success than their male contemporaries.
A survey of over 2,600 UK workers, by HR software provider Ciphr, found that one in seven (14%) female managers felt that their gender had made it harder for them to succeed at work. In stark comparison, just one in 14 (7%) male managers said the same.
The new research, released ahead of this year’s International Women’s Day, highlights that gender bias and barriers – both real and perceived – are still pervasive across many industries in the UK.
According to Ciphr’s research, female leaders and senior managers are the most likely to be impacted by gender bias. Nearly a third (32%) of female respondents working in leadership or senior management positions have suffered discriminatory experiences at work or been treated unfavourably during recruitment because of their gender. A further one in six (16%) believe that their gender has made career success harder for them to achieve.
Gender discrimination appears shockingly common for those in middle or junior management too. Nearly one in four (23%) of all female managers surveyed have faced gender discrimination in their careers, compared to one in seven (14%) male managers surveyed.
And it’s not just managers that are affected. One in nine (11%) female employees in non-management roles also reported experiencing gender discrimination at work or when job hunting, compared to 6.2% of male employees in non-management roles.
Regardless of seniority, women are more likely than men to be affected by gender barriers, such as gender-based workplace discrimination or hiring bias, and lower pay (the UK’s gender pay gap currently stands at 13.1% in favour of men). The data shows that just 3.2% of male employees in non-management roles, and 7% of male managers, believe that their gender has hindered them at work. But this doubles to 7.7% and 14% for women in these roles respectively.
Being self-employed doesn’t appear to negate the challenges associated with gender bias either. If anything, it could make some barriers more pronounced. Nearly one in five (18%) self-employed women, compared to a scant 0.9% of self-employed men, felt that their gender had made it harder to be successful in their work.
Commenting on the findings, Claire Williams, chief people and operations officer at Ciphr, says: “While our survey didn’t directly capture the reasons why many female managers might feel their gender has made it harder for them to succeed, there’s a lot of existing research and experience that can shed light on these results.
“Stereotypes and gender bias (both unconscious and overt) are still a reality that many women must contend with. This can have a direct impact on women’s ability to succeed and progress. Also, often, it can have a secondary impact on their confidence in the workplace, where fear of having their behaviours viewed negatively (the ‘likeability penalty’) can affect how their competence and authority are perceived.
“In male-dominated fields in particular, female managers may have fewer role models and senior leaders to mentor and sponsor them. This lack of visible female leadership can create a sense of isolation and reinforce the perception that success is harder for women, and that there simply aren’t opportunities to succeed and progress – even if that isn’t the reality. So it’s critical that organisations that do have long-standing hierarchical structures, and historically male-dominated client bases, such as the law or property, for example, take positive action to improve cultural diversity.
“Research consistently shows that women tend to be judged more harshly for mistakes and are often held to higher standards to ‘prove’ their competence, especially in technical fields. Women may face microaggressions or even overt sexism, which creates a sense that they must work harder to be taken seriously. This can also lead to a ‘performance tax’, where female managers feel the need to over-prepare, over-perform, and self-censor to avoid reinforcing negative stereotypes.
“It’s also important to highlight that in some sectors, like energy, construction and transport, where technical, engineering, and operational roles have traditionally been held by men, female managers may still find themselves navigating cultures that were not designed with them in mind. Even creative industries, despite their reputation for being progressive, often rely heavily on informal hiring and promotion processes based on personal networks and ‘cultural fit’, which can disadvantage women, especially those juggling caregiving responsibilities.
“All these factors contribute to the perception that female managers in many of these industries have to work harder, or overcome additional hurdles, compared to their male counterparts.”
Ciphr’s head of diversity, Ann Allcock, adds: “In workplace cultures where gender-based harassment or discrimination persists, it's not surprising that women find it hard to be at work, let alone to succeed.
“Traits and behaviours typically associated with men continue to be recognised and more highly rewarded than 'female traits', and women are typically held to higher performance standards than men, particularly as they progress.
“There’s also the often-reported difference in confidence between men and women – where men may typically overestimate their abilities and performance while women may underestimate both. When referred to as the 'confidence gap', this can appear to imply a deficit on the part of women. Whereas the fault is with processes tinged with bias, that fail to both objectively identify and reward performance and ability, and to recognise the value of different skills and approaches.
“While both men and women may increasingly request and benefit from flexible working policies and options, because of society's stereotypes around caring responsibilities, it is still predominantly women who take up or return to part-time roles to combine work and family – often at a high professional cost. The general issue of long-hours culture and over-work can bake in these challenges for women.”
Ciphr commissioned a survey (via OnePoll) of 4,000 UK adults between August and November 2024. Nearly two-thirds (61% or 2,418) of respondents are in full- or part-time employment, and 5% (or 203) are self-employed. Over half (1,423) of these surveyed employees work in leadership or management roles.
Ciphr’s Workplace Discrimination in the UK study is available at https://www.ciphr.com/infographics/workplace-discrimination-statistics#gender-bias.
Ciphr is the go-to HR and payroll software and solutions partner for medium and large organisations in the UK. Its integrated HR, payroll, benefits, learning and recruitment software, services and content provide invaluable insights to HR teams to inform their people strategy and grow and develop their organisations. Based in Reading, Ciphr is on a mission to amplify the voice and value of HR through intelligent people data solutions that help HR be heard – in the boardroom and across the business.
For more information, please visit www.ciphr.com.
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Emma-Louise Jones, digital PR manager at Ciphr
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Website: www.ciphr.com
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Notes:
Ciphr commissioned OnePoll to conduct an independent survey of 4,000 UK adults (nationally representative by age, gender and region). OnePoll ran two surveys, between 31 July and 5 August 2024, and 5-13 November 2024, with the results from both (2,000 respondents + 2,000 respondents) combined.
Around three-fifths (61% or 2,418) of respondents are employed and 5% (or 203) are self-employed. Employee sample: 25% are business owners, CEOs, MDs or senior managers, 22% are middle managers, 12% are junior managers, and 41% work in non-management positions (including supervisors and junior staff).
Ciphr is the go-to HR and payroll software and solutions partner for medium and large organisations in the UK. Its integrated HR, payroll, benefits, learning and recruitment software, services and content provide invaluable insights to HR teams to inform their people strategy and grow and develop their organisations. Ciphr is on a mission to amplify the voice and value of HR through intelligent people data solutions that help HR be heard – in the boardroom and across the business.
The Ciphr Group is a privately held company backed by ECI Partners and headquartered in Reading. Over 230 employees work across the group, which includes Ciphr and Avantus.
Ciphr spokespeople are available to provide expert media comment on a broad range of topics, including HR strategy, people management, employee experience and wellbeing, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I), payroll, pay, benefits and rewards, learning and development, the future of work, tech trends, business and leadership, marketing, and more.
