Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Men are no longer the breadwinners but still do less housework, the Women’s Tennis Association is going back to China, and more than half of women in corporate America are lonely at work. Happy Friday!
– Pressure at the top. It’s lonely at the top—and new research confirms it. Fifty-three percent of women in corporate America say they experience loneliness in the workplace.
Fortune Well reporter L’Oreal Thompson Payton dives into the data in a new story. The survey was conducted by TheLi.st, Berlin Cameron, and Benenson Strategy Group, and found that 30% of senior women said they don’t have anyone to talk to about work.
This data may not be very surprising. Senior executives of all genders experience loneliness in the workplace, as the number of people they can have “no-agenda conversations” with dwindles with each jump up the corporate ladder.
With so few women across the top ranks of corporate America—just 10% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women, for example—it makes sense that the problem would be worse for female leaders. (In January, I wrote about the friendship of former Match Group CEOs Mandy Ginsberg and Shar Dubey because their bond is so rare.) Women lack not just a workplace confidante, but a peer who understands the unique pressures of being one of a few. Caregiving responsibilities at home and burnout amplify women’s loneliness.
TheLi.st CEO Ann Shoket hopes the new data will lead to action. “We did this research not to point out how lonely it is, but to point out the impact of that loneliness on [women’s] lives and their careers,” she told Fortune. “It’s not that so many women are feeling lonely at their job, but they feel lonely because of their job.”
Read the full story here.
We’d love to hear from you, Broadsheet readers, about your experiences with loneliness in the workplace. Has it gotten worse as you’ve advanced in your careers? How and why? Send a note to my email below—your message may be featured in a future Broadsheet.
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
@_emmahinchliffe
The Broadsheet is Fortune’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women. Today’s edition was curated by Kinsey Crowley. Subscribe here.
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- "Black Women Best." Janelle Jones, chief economist and policy director for the Service Employees International Union, was the first Black woman to be chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor. In both roles, she has promoted her "Black Women Best" model for how the economy should work—uplifting those most marginalized and driving the labor market from the bottom up. New York Times
- No breadwinner. Thirty percent of people in opposite-sex couples earn roughly the same as one another, and 16% of women out-earn their partners. Despite the decline of the traditional "breadwinner," women still put in two more hours of caregiving and 2½ more hours of housework than their husbands. Wall Street Journal
- Edtech investment. Reach Capital, ranked as one of the most diverse investment firms in the country with cofounders including Shauntel Garvey, Jennifer Carolan, and Wayee Chu, raised $215 million to invest in edtech companies. With a portfolio including Handshake, Paper, and Replit, the firm has historically invested in seed, Series A, and Series B rounds for founders who are from marginalized backgrounds at higher rates than the industry standard. Forbes
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Wells Fargo consumer and small business CEO Mary Mackwill retire.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
- Fighting for Evan. Emma Tucker took over as editor of the Wall Street Journal just before one of her reporters, Evan Gershkovich, was arrested in Russia. Tucker has become the face of the Journal's campaign for Gershkovich's release. New York Magazine
- Nonbinary in Boston. For the first time in the race's 127-year history, the Boston Marathon will include a division for nonbinary runners. The Boston Marathon is unique in the running community due to its strict qualifying times, and nonbinary runners are excited to run in their true identities. While winners in the category will receive trophies, they will not be awarded prize money. Washington Post
- Back to China. The Women's Tennis Association will head back to China after a 16-month boycott over safety concerns for Chinese player Peng Shuai, who accused a government official of sexual assault. China censored her story, and officials have avoided questions about the matter. She disappeared from public view after the accusation, only making orchestrated appearances. WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon says the organization is returning to China because its demands were not being met, and it is time to take a new approach. Associated Press
ON MY RADAR
Sober women and the fear of becoming boring Jezebel
Carol Burnett, like her comedy, is still timeless Hollywood Reporter
America's approach to birthing care must change Time
Taylor Swift’s breakups defined her early stardom. Not anymore Washington Post
PARTING WORDS
“If your dream only includes you, it’s not big enough.”
—Advice Hey Auntie! founder Nicole Kenney lives by
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