DESPITE ALL THAT HYPE about how corporate America is doing its damndest to elevate women, I get the distinct impression that some companies think women are just not worth the fuss.
Alas, they can stop pretending that they want women to stick around. Because two high profile companies – Deloitte and Zoom – are leading the charge to cut back on benefits that disproportionately affect women:
Deloitte: Paid parental leave cut from 16 weeks to eight, paid time off reduced by up to 10 days, and the elimination of $50,000 reimbursement for IVF, surrogacy or adoption. (The changes apply to certain employees in Deloitte’s “Center” talent model, mainly those in internal support roles.)
Zoom: Cuts to paid parental leave for birthing parents (from 22 weeks to 18) and for non-birthing parents (from 16 weeks to 10 weeks).
To be fair, Zoom’s pared-down leave policies are still quite generous. And note that Deloitte’s benefit reductions do not apply to its more prized employees (those in client-facing roles), which opens up a whole other can of worms about workplace caste systems.
Most infuriating is that Deloitte has the chutzpah to market itself as a champion for women. In fact, its “Women @ Work 2025” report is all about advancing women – how to retain and prime women for leadership roles.
Deloitte’s answer? You got it: strong compensation and benefits – along with career opportunities (the top factor), work/life balance, and flexible working arrangements. The report rattles on about why these supports matter to women, who still shoulder most responsibilities at home. There’s even a section on reproductive assistance – which Deloitte is now eliminating – noting that “just 16% of women experiencing fertility challenges say they have been able to access support through workplace health benefits.”
(I asked Deloitte for comment but did not get a response. The Guardian reports that the company said in a statement: “Deloitte US is modernizing its talent architecture to provide a more tailored experience reflective of our professionals’ broad range of skills and the work they do serving our clients.” How’s that for corporate gobbledygook?)
Paid family leave, in particular, is a key factor that keeps women in the labor market. According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, women who had access to paid family leave at the time of the birth are much more likely to stay in the workforce. Despite the value of paid leave, the United States remains the only wealthy industrialized country without federally guaranteed paid leave for new parents.
Do the actions of Deloitte and Zoom signify the dialing back of policies that women value and the return of the old male order?
“When marquee employers move, others follow,” warns Susan Colantuono, who runs a firm focused on women in leadership, on LinkedIn. She also told me that “companies consider all options” when cost-cutting is on the table. That said, she added, “what is absolutely unacceptable is to take actions that adversely impact women over men.”
Perhaps unacceptable to those of us in the trenches. Sadly, there are indicators that the benefits – actually, I prefer the term “rights” – that women fought hard to attain are being chipped away.
Take flexible arrangements. Though it gained acceptance during the pandemic, there’s now a growing list of companies requiring on site-work – some even five-days a week, such as JPMorgan Chase, Dell, and Amazon. The same dynamic is happening in Big Law, where four days in the office is now more or less standard and at least one firm, Sullivan & Cromwell, reportedly expects five.
It’s hard not to see all this as a backlash against working women. And it’s harder still not to put it in the context of the current political climate, which is frankly sexist and reactionary. Any program or policy that arguably falls under the umbrella of diversity, equity, and inclusion is now under attack. This year, the EEOC sued Coca Cola for holding a women-only networking event.
So why not get ahead of the curve and whack away at programs that are particularly important to women? That way, companies can save a bundle of money and earn some brownie points for standing up to DEI. What a brilliant business strategy!
I’m not saying there’s a corporate conspiracy to keep women down. I tend to think it all comes down to money. Perhaps companies are worried about economic uncertainty, the burgeoning cost of benefits, the impact of AI, and who knows what else. But it’s also a fabulously convenient time to return to the old male-centric business model.
I’m afraid all this confirms what we’ve known all along: women are expendable. Please tell me I’m wrong.
Related posts:
Go Ahead, Tell Women They’re Not Competitive
Is Law Suffering from Feminization?
Women are Quitting. WTF Is Happening?
Endnote: Is this what the future of an American board meeting will look like?
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