The Gender Divide: Attitudes Towards Partnership in Professional Services Firms

In the realm of professional services, the journey to partnership is often seen as the pinnacle of a successful career. However, the attitudes towards this coveted position can vary significantly between men and women.

Understanding these differences is crucial for fostering a more inclusive and equitable workplace. Our research sheds light on these gender-specific perspectives, revealing the underlying factors that influence career aspirations and the pursuit of partnership. 

Waiting to be sure before entering the partnership track

A simple question we recently posed to more than 400 Partner candidates highlights the key factors that attract women versus men to the role of Partner.  Of course, financial reward and more responsibility were popular reasons given for wanting to move into partnership, but one of the options – “I have outgrown my current role” was selected by far more women than men. 

In our experience, women generally want to feel confident of their abilities before taking the next career step and hence would often rather stay in role until they are sure they are ready to move.  It is that old piece of research again about women looking at a job description and feeling they need to tick every box before even applying.

The desire for more clarity on the role of Partner

One of the most striking findings from our research is the disparity in levels of understanding between men and women regarding the role of Partner.  Whilst our research shows that partnership and all that it entails can often seem like a huge unknown for candidates regardless of their gender, there is a clear difference between how much men feel they know about the role versus women. 

In our research 52% of men said they “understand well” the expectations of partnership versus only 21% of women.  When it comes to the rewards of partnership, 48% of men felt they understood this well versus only 21% of women. 

Either men are being let into a secret mine of information (unlikely!) or they have a different benchmark for the term “understand well”.  The likelihood is that if I am a woman, and perhaps the primary caregiver in my family (with all the responsibility that this entails) I am not going to jump into a new role without being very clear on what it is, how it works and how I will measured and rewarded for this. 

Opting out of the race before it has even begun

The process of becoming a Partner can often feel like a mysterious, clandestine rite of passage.  The knowledge gap is often stark as demonstrated by the fact that potential Partner candidates are often asking us as external coaches what we understand about the process inside their own firms. In our research we asked:

“To what extent does your firm share how partnership works and how to get there?”. 

Only 9% of women responded that their firm shares this well, versus 24% of men.  So, the level of understanding is low across the board, but critically low for women.  This lack of information can lead to assumptions being made and untested, which can in turn lead to women opting out of the race before it has even begun.

So what for professional services firms?

There is a lot for many firms to do when it comes to unveiling the mystery of partnership, but for firms that specifically want to increase the number of women getting on the Partner track, our research recommends:

• Significantly increase the information available around how Partnership works and make this readily available. 74% of women in our research would like their firm to provide more information (versus only 34% of men).
• Within the above, consider sharing how maternity leave is supported at Partner level.  Women moving to Partner are often also growing their family and are keen to know how maternity leave works as a self-employed individual.  They may not be ready to ask HR to see this policy, thereby announcing their family is not complete. Put the Partner policy (if you have one!) on your intranet and make it easy to access.
• Proactively start conversations with female talent about partnership and how it works.  Dispel any myths around partnership early on so that untested assumptions do not become fact.
• Be clear on what a successful Partner looks like in your firm.  For most firms this is not about reaching the top of the equity, but this is sometimes the picture that is painted to those outside the Partnership.  It is not an “all or nothing” scenario.  Women -and men – can have a strong practice and have a life and a family.  Let’s take a longer term and more holistic view of what success really means.
• Sponsor – don’t just mentor – women.  Sponsorship is about using one’s power and influence to open doors for women when it comes to, say client opportunities, networking, speaking events etc.  Give women a supportive taste of what the Partner role entails, which in turn gives them confidence in their ability to step into the role.  Sadly, women are often over mentored, under sponsored versus their male counterparts. 

The Tall Wall is a coaching company that specialises in professional and financial services and has considerable expertise in supporting diverse talent to thrive. 

Author, Helen Cowan is the Founder and CEO of The Tall Wall all. She has a wealth of experience in coaching and consulting, having cut her teeth in the Big Four as an M&A strategist and an internal coach.