Women in tech with male bosses report higher burnout rates

The latest study from Girls in Tech has revealed an alarmingly high rate of burnout among women in the tech sector with male bosses. 

Around 63% of women with male supervisors reported feeling burned out, compared to 44% of those with female supervisors, according to The Tech Workplace for Women in the Pandemic study. However, burn out rates were much higher when the top executive at the company (eg CEO) is male.

In fact, 85% of women in tech working at organisations where the top leader is male reported being burned out; compared to just 15% when the top executive is female. Overall, nearly 76% reported being burned out since the Covid-19 pandemic hit in March 2020.

WORKING MOMS SUFFER HIGHER BURN OUT

The study, demonstrating the devastating effect of Covid-19 on women in the tech workforce, also found that working moms are burning out at higher rates; 78% of those who have kids in the house agreed it’s difficult to juggle work and home responsibilities. Additionally, the majority with children (79%) in the household report feeling burned out. While burn out rates are extremely high, an overwhelming majority of women in tech (93%) in full-time work feel they are “lucky to have a job”.

Additional findings showed that:

• Sexual harassment in tech: More than one in four women (27%) report being sexually harassed in the workplace.
• Racial inequality in tech: Nearly 41% say there is racial inequity at their workplace.  
• Worklife post-pandemic: 87% of full-time employees expect the workforce to look very different after the pandemic; with more than 82% expecting employers will adjust to meet the different needs of their employees after the pandemic; and 88% expecting different benefits from their employers post pandemic. 
• Work from home versus work from office: Around 76% of full-time employees prefer working from home over working in the office. Many do not anticipate returning to the office in-person once Covid-19 restrictions are lifted. 

COVID BURNOUT

“The results from our study were abundantly clear: women in technology are burned out from Covid and organisations must recognise this is at crisis-level,” stated Adriana Gascoigne, Founder and CEO, Girls in Tech. “We were particularly stunned to learn the impact a supervisor’s gender has on women’s burnout rate. For this Women’s History Month, we call upon organisations to acknowledge this disparity, dig deeper to better understand the issue; and take real, meaningful action towards positive change.”

As part of efforts for Women’s History Month and Equal Pay Day, Girls in Tech board members penned an open letter to tech leaders demanding that corporate boards be composed of at least 50% women by 2025, as reported.