This is the third in a series of blog posts looking at the myths that act as barriers to women’s advancement in the workplace. These myths were discussed in a workshop moderated by Deborah Gillis, Vice President, Catalyst Canada at our WiN-Canada Conference held in Ottawa on Feb. 27, 2008. Catalyst is the leading nonprofit corporate membership research and advisory organization working globally with businesses and the professions to build inclusive environments and expand opportunities for women and business.

Myth #3 - Women don’t get ahead because they are distracted trying to balance their work and home lives.

Catalyst’s research, “Women and Men in U.S. Corporate Leadership: Same Workplace, Different Realities? 2004” found that: “Just over one-half of women (51 percent), compared to 43 percent of men, find difficulty in achieving a balance between their work and personal lives.”  This finding suggests that although the work-life balance is more demanding for women, both genders share the struggle. The study goes on to find women and men have both made choices and trade-offs in their personal and professional lives and they are both equally satisfied with the trade-offs they have made.

Interestingly enough, when Catalyst did similar research with Generation X participants, “The Next Generation: Today’s Professionals, Tomorrow’s Leaders, 2001,” they found that 64 percent of women and 53 percent of men struggled with the work-life balance. While the numbers were higher for both Gen X women and men, the differential remains about the same.

While there is a difference between men and women in the area of difficulty finding a work-life balance it is not significant enough to suggest this is the reason that women are not advancing in the workplace.

Next time we will look at Myth #4 - Women just don’t do the right things to get ahead.