The Challenges of Starting a New Job as a Woman

She aced the interviews. She dazzled the hiring team. She locked down the new job. 

Now, she just has to jump over (or hopefully entirely avoid) some hurdles.

Everyone has felt equally excited and nervous heading into a new role. Even landing a dream job comes with a few concerns. No one is immune to those pre-first-day jitters.

Unfortunately, that anxiety can be a lot worse for women. While organisations and administrations alike have made great strides in reducing gender-specific inequality in the workplace, the reality is that women still face many challenges, especially when they enter a new role.

We, as a society and corporate culture, need to be honest about what female employees experience compared to their male colleagues. Only then can we make an active effort to combat stereotypes, put an end to mistreatment, and create a more inclusive, welcoming work environment for everyone.

Challenges Women Face in New Roles

If you asked someone why they were nervous about starting a new job, they’d probably tell you they were worried about getting along with colleagues or picking up their team’s processes quickly enough.

Women have those same concerns—plus a few more.

The Gender Pay Gap

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Then again, maybe we shouldn’t. It’s a bit gauche.

That exact mindset is one of the reasons the gender pay gap endures.

In the United States, women earn, on average, 82 cents to every dollar their male counterparts earn. That disparity widens when looking at women of colour. While there are no definitive explanations for why this gap still exists—after all, gender discrimination is illegal—there are a few things that can play a factor.

For starters, the issue of salary remains an awkward topic for many women. When statements like “Talking about money is unattractive” still get uttered between colleagues and friends, women can feel hesitant to negotiate salaries when offered a job. Even when women accept the role, the touchy subject of compensation can keep them in the dark about wage discrepancies within their teams.

The result? Women work for wages significantly less than their male employees receive.

Cassandra Olivos, a fractional leader in the Marketing and Operations space, recalled a past instance in which two former co-workers had identical roles and shared the same experience and skill set. One day, the female employee discovered her male colleague was making over $10,000 more than her. “She went to her leaders, called out the difference, and, next thing you know, she gets that same raise. But when you think about it, why wasn’t that salary offered to her in the first place?”

Women also face limitations for potential earnings. As the cost of childcare continues to skyrocket, women, more so than men, are left balancing household duties and their careers. If they cannot find a job that offers them the flexibility to manage school pickup, doctor’s appointments, and the like, they may limit themselves to part-time work or exit the workforce altogether.

These experiences are, unfortunately, all too common for women trying to land new roles, climb the career ladder, and earn higher salaries.

Funding Difficulties

For some women, starting a new job means something other than stepping into a role at an existing business. It means starting a business of their own.

Women in the United States own over 14 million small businesses, generating $2.7 trillion in annual revenue and employing almost 12.2 million people. That is no small feat. 

Still, a big problem remains: only 1.9% of venture capital funding goes to women. While some women can leverage personal finances and assets, most can’t. Even as female entrepreneurship is on the rise, inherent bias still keeps money out of founders’ pockets.

One study found that investors preferred hearing pitches from men even if the content was the same as a woman’s. They were also 60% more likely to award the man’s pitch. 

Another study showed that venture capitalists asked men vastly different questions during the pitch process. Men were asked more “promotional” questions about upside and potential gains, while women were asked “preventative” questions about possible losses and risk mitigation. Those who addressed promotion questions raised at least six times more capital than those asked the prevention questions.

As women try to take greater control over their careers and income, this is a disappointing hurdle that remains.

Implicit Bias

You’d be hard-pressed to find a woman who hasn’t felt the heavy weight of bias in the workplace.

This form of prejudice varies from company to company and plays out in a vast number of ways. Especially as women enter into a new job, the frustration of bias significantly impacts how they adjust to their role.

Advertising Operations Manager Jessica felt a wave of bias almost immediately upon starting a new role. “My team had two managers, myself and a man,” she says. “When I first started, it literally took four months for anyone on the teams we support to come to me as someone with any knowledge on the subject at all. Now, I’ve become many teams’ go-to person for support, but it took my director telling my male colleague to ignore people’s requests so they’d come to me.”

Jessica’s experience is something many women are all too familiar with—especially for those women working in male-dominated fields.

Too often, women are not recognized for their competence and expertise within their roles simply because they aren’t men. Further, microaggressions, “mansplaining,” and general dismissal can leave women feeling dejected, even when they demonstrate equal or superior performance in their roles.

A Proposal Manager in the Power and Utilities sector, Lindsey* admitted she struggled to adjust to her current role because of workplace bias. “A particular subject matter expert always seems to undermine my expertise, particularly in the proposal process where I am the expert. He frequently dismisses my methods, claiming they ‘don’t make sense,’ and his tone in communication is often condescending. Notably, I haven’t observed him treating any of my male colleagues in the same manner.”

Women bring a lot to the table, especially as they excitedly step into new career roles. They are confident and capable. But even the strongest of us can start to feel these hits over time.

Double Standards

Women also tend to face significant double standards in the workplace. Whether due to traditional gender expectations or personal bias, the difference in treatment and expectations remains a pervasive problem for women adjusting to new roles.

One of the most blatant? How personalities are perceived.

A man who shuts down a colleague’s idea is strategic; a woman is harsh and close-minded. Male colleagues who push back on certain topics are assertive; women are aggressive. Men who refuse to take on additional work are protective of their productivity; women are not team players. 

It doesn’t make sense, and yet it’s so common to see.

Another huge double standard women must struggle with, especially as they start at a new company, is the emphasis on their appearance. Male employees are not nearly held to the same standard as their female counterparts—and a man’s ability to do his job is rarely, if ever, connected to his appearance.

In thinking about this prejudice, Olivos was brought back to a particularly frustrating situation in a prior role. Her company had just hired a new senior-level employee. Male leadership had seen her appearance on Zoom interviews, including the small facial piercing the woman wore. A few weeks into onboarding this new employee, whom Olivos viewed as “outstanding” in her role, those same male leaders took issue with the women’s piercing.

“They started saying we would have to implement a dress code. I found it so comical because there were other men in the workplace who had facial piercings or full tattoo sleeves that were visible on client calls, but no one batted an eye until this woman came on board. It was interesting to me that they took issue with this woman, who was so incredible at her job and always dressed professionally for calls, but had no issues with the men in the office.”

Because of these double standards, women spend more time and effort worrying about their daily outfit choices and the way they do their hair and makeup, when they shouldn’t have to. If they opt to not wear makeup to the office one day? Let’s say it together, ladies: “You look tired.”

Sexual Harassment

Lewd comments about a woman’s appearance. Invasive questions about her personal life. Persistent attempts to get her to go on a date outside the office. 

Sexual harassment is one of the biggest fears women have when entering a new workplace. While some organisations have explicit policies barring this behaviour, others leave too much undefined and all but invite poor treatment of female employees. Even federal laws have not halted the problem.

Unfortunately, women experience workplace sexual harassment at disproportionately higher rates (38% compared to men’s 14%), with those numbers increasing depending on the field of work. Worse, a harrowing 75% of incidents go unreported.

Especially when they are still settling into a new role, women can be hesitant to report instances of sexual harassment for fear of retaliation or not being believed. 

This treatment results in psychological trauma, depression, and anxiety, as well as adverse effects on the survivor’s physical well-being. Sexual harassment can also affect a woman’s ability to do her job effectively. 

Being in a hostile work environment as a result of verbal or physical harassment can even result in the employee leaving the company. In fact, 1 in 7 women have sought a new job assignment, changed jobs, or quit a job because of sexual harassment and assault. 

No one should have their personal safety, career aspirations, or livelihood threatened by harassment. 

(Note: Any employee, regardless of gender, can suffer from workplace sexual harassment. All the feelings that result from those experiences are valid and deserve to be addressed with respect and empathy.)

A Lack of Sponsorship

Having a strong support system makes a significant difference in how working professionals succeed within their roles. It’s hard enough to gain sponsorship when you enter a new role, but this challenge increases for women. 

Especially in male-dominated fields and larger corporate organisations, where women hold only 26% of C-Suite and 28% of Senior VP roles, finding mentors who can advocate for them can be increasingly difficult. Without that support system, women can be passed up for earning promotions, miss out on networking opportunities, and remain stagnant within their roles. 

As a woman in STEM, Jessica knows firsthand how much of a difference having the right people in your corner can make when beginning a new job.

Upon being hired for an administrative position after graduating with a maths and business degree, she befriended a male colleague who was involved in the more technical side of advertising, the exact work she was interested in. She pushed her manager to let her explore that work. He dismissed her. Only when her male coworker fought on her behalf did Jessica’s manager finally give her a chance.

Expressing her mixed feelings, Jessica shared, “I’m very grateful to my colleague, but if not for another man fighting for me, I would not have the career I have today. And that’s not how anything should go.”

So, what does this all boil down to? Do women simply resign to the current reality of the challenges that come with entering a new role? 

No. 

Women are resilient and fight for better standards that set themselves and their colleagues up for success. As they have every other battle, they will overcome every obstacle in their path.

How to Overcome Gender-Related Challenges

It’s essential to recognize that while organisations and employees alike can address these challenges, many stem from systemic societal issues. Still, this is a battle worth fighting. Women deserve to work and grow in organisations that make them feel safe and supported, not stressed and spoken over.

To that end, here are a few ways to combat gender-related discrimination and bias in the workplace.

Emphasise Open Communication with HR

A company’s Human Resources or People Operations team is a lifeline for employees across the organisation. It’s their job to address issues in the company to build a safer environment. However, employees, especially female ones, need to know that they can rely on those colleagues to have their back.

By having a welcoming and approachable HR department and emphasising the value of employee feedback, women can feel more comfortable expressing any concerns or challenges they face, knowing that there is a supportive system in place to help them.

Create Transparency Around Promotions and Salaries

While this may be a scary piece of advice for some firms, being transparent about employee wages and growth is one of the best ways to close the gender pay gap and create equality.

When interviewing prospective employees, offer a specific salary range and detail how you arrive at final offers. Establish a clear path for promotions and explain it to new employees during onboarding. This way, there is a smaller chance that women will get paid less than male colleagues or that they will need clarification on how they can rise within the organisation. 

Provide Proper Training

The best way to ensure your company does not disrespect or mistreat female employees is to lay out exactly what is expected of them.

Hold workshops that highlight pervasive issues so everyone can get a better understanding of the hurdles women face in the workplace. Have colleagues commit to preventing sexual harassment of any employees. Implement bias training so employees and leaders can recognize and challenge their own habits of thinking and create a better culture.

Establish Mentorship Programs

Mentorship can be invaluable in helping women navigate their careers, build confidence, and feel a sense of belonging in the workplace. Set up internal programs that connect women with experienced female mentors who can provide guidance, share insights, and offer advice based on their own experiences.

Especially if an industry lacks strong female representation, mentorship programs offer an effective way to provide female employees with the support they need to thrive.

Cultivate Cultures of Empathy 

Leadership teams can put policies into place that combat these issues, but there will still be individuals who hold bias or close-minded ways of thinking. This makes it even more vital for businesses to build certain cultures that prioritise inclusivity and empathy.

“A lot of it comes down to hiring the right people and setting the right expectations. From there, leaders need to go beyond just saying something is a core value on their website. Own it. Live it,” offers Olivos. “Call out microaggressions when they happen. Better yet, take a proactive approach to combating these issues and work to prevent them in the first place.”

As for women entering new roles, the right mindset can be transformative. 

Trust in your abilities. Don’t be afraid to assert yourself when necessary. Remember that your opinions and contributions are valuable. 

Go shine.