As more remote and hybrid employees are being sucked into the RTO vortex, one CEO is standing firm beside her company’s flexible work policy.
Sallie Krawcheck, CEO of Ellevest, a virtual investment and financial literacy platform designed for women, recently told Fortune that she’s sticking by her choice to allow remote work, and why she doubled down on the policy.
Ellevest first went fully remote when the pandemic hit. At that time, the company’s building lease was up and they decided to commit to being a virtual operation. Krawcheck says an all-remote office helped with recruiting, as the firm could pick the best applicants regardless of their location, and also made everyone more effective.
“We were hiring people from all over the country without really asking them where they were from. Our productivity was really strong, and we found that we weren’t really losing anything in culture,” she said.
Krawcheck’s mindset is rare in the finance industry, with many firms demanding five days in-person. And a major element that factored into her decision to stay remote is the company’s workforce makeup and mission to “get more money in the hands of women.” Krawcheck says 85% of Ellevest’s employees are female, and notes this flexible policy is well-suited to advance gender equity.
“Ellevest is sort of the inverse of Wall Street in terms of the makeup of our company,” she says. “Men are more likely to move for a job. And particularly for women who have kids, [it’s valuable to] keep the kids at school in whatever city they’re in.”
Flexible work schedules are often considered to be more beneficial to women, because they offer day-to-day adaptability around different caregiving responsibilities. Around 68% of women prefer remote-only schedules compared to 57% of men, according to data from FlexJobs. And beyond wanting more flexibility to manage their lives, virtual environments also reduce women’s risk of workplace harm—a 2022 McKinsey study found that many women encountered fewer microaggressions and felt more psychologically safe working from home. Career expert Catherine Fisher notes that this unequal balance of responsibilities undoubtedly contributes to working women’s burnout level, which is 8% higher than men’s, according to recent research from LinkedIn.
There are still drawbacks to working from home, and Krawcheck conceded at a Workforce Executive Council Summit last year that the virtual environment does hinder creativity. But she added that her business is hitting gains like never before.
It’s still uncertain if other financial players will recognize the power of remote work for women staffers in particular. And amid this wave of five-day RTO mandates, things aren’t looking up for most Wall Street workers. But one thing is clear—if business leaders are looking to improve gender parity, offering employees flexible schedules may be a good place to start.
