What do women really want from employers?

People are the beating heart of any organisation. With women making up 48% of all those in employment at the last count¹, we thought we’d delve a little deeper into what women want from employers.

This is particularly important as our recent research showed that only a third (36%) of the UK working women we surveyed said they’re satisfied with their job overall. And 18% said they’re likely to leave their company in the next 6 months².

Our global employer research also showed that a large proportion of employers are prioritising talent-related benefits, with retention, acquisition and development amongst the most common focus areas³.

With this in mind, we explored how expanding your definition of benefits may help you to better support the women in your organisation and help you achieve your talent-related goals.

It’s not all about compensation.

While pay, bonuses and other core tangible benefits - like health coverage and retirement contributions - are important, there’s a lot that women value above and beyond their compensation package⁴.

When women are thinking about whether they want to stay at a company or not, there are a number of intangible benefits, that also come into play.  Work/life balance and other psychological benefits - such as building a feeling of connection with others at work or having a sense of autonomy - rank highly among the most commonly selected reasons to stay at a company³.

Before we go into the detail of the table below, here’s a quick overview of what each benefit area covers.

• Work/Life Balance - paid time off, paid sick leave, work/life balance, stability, job security, and manageable workloads.

• Connection - the need for belonging, acceptance and affiliation with others at work.

• Autonomy - the need for freedom and choice in the initiation and regulation of behaviour at work.

• Competence - the need to feel skilled and capable, with opportunities to grow and develop new capabilities.

• Purpose - the need for meaning, coherence, and alignment between personal goals/values and one’s work.

Our research shows that the top reasons women say they would stay in a job include a variety of benefits across these areas².

Next steps for employers to consider

Benefits in balance support employees in various stages of their lives and across all areas of wellness. As a next step you could consider reviewing how your benefit offerings meet employees' core psychological needs - for autonomy, connection, competence, and purpose. Ensuring you are considering psychological benefits, in addition to tangible benefits, may help to retain and engage female employees.

If you’d like to learn more about how benefits may help to retain, engage and empower women, please do read our global findings to see how the UK compares to other markets and speak to your Fidelity representative to learn more.

• Read more about our global women and work findings here.

Fidelity International and Fidelity Investments are separate companies that operate in different jurisdictions through their subsidiaries and affiliates. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Sources:

¹ Census 2021 - Diversity in the labour market, England and Wales
² The Fidelity Global Sentiment Survey 2024
³ The Fidelity Global Employer Survey 2024
⁴ Fidelity Investments: The Fidelity Working 9-to-Thrive Report