The reason many Australian women are considering changing careers

A quarter of women who switched roles in the past 18 months cited a lack of progression, according to a survey.

Unsupportive managers and a lack of opportunities to advance are causing many women to consider a career change. Source: Getty / Maskot

Key Points

• A new survey by Women Rising shows one-quarter of women shifted roles in the past 18 months.
• Burnout, a lack of progression and unsupportive managers are driving some women to consider a career change.
• One in five women reported negative bias due to their culture and race.

Employers have been told to better support female workers as many worry over a lack of opportunity to advance their careers and unsupportive managers.

About half of Australian women are considering a career change, according to a survey by leadership development organisation Women Rising.

One-quarter of women who shifted roles in the past 18 months cited a lack of progression, according to the 1,200-strong survey conducted earlier this year.

Women Rising founder and chief executive Megan Dalla-Camina said employers needed to step up.

"While women are suffering from a lack of mentorship and sponsorship, they're not sitting idly by waiting for their careers to happen," she said.

"Many are ready to take action."

Almost three-quarters of respondents said they would change jobs if their boss had no investment in developing their careers.

More than one in three had left their jobs over the last 18 months but most did so by choice, just 6 per cent were laid off or made redundant.

Employers are being urged to step up as many women look elsewhere for career progression. Source: Getty / Andriy Onufriyenko

The turnover reported in the survey is higher than Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, which show 1.3 million Australians changed jobs in the year to February 2023, equivalent to about 10 per cent of workers.

One in four workers who changed jobs in that time were professional workers, with the next highest turnover seen among technicians and trades workers.

Some 78 per cent experienced burnout over the last 18 months and only eight per cent said they were thriving at work.

"What's clear is that organisations risk losing talented female employees if they do not move the needle on career and leadership development," Ms Dalla-Camina said.

Two-thirds of women said they experienced negative bias due to their age while one in five reported negative bias due to their culture and race.

While many felt unfulfilled, three quarters said they intended to remain in their current roles for the time being.

The organisation attributed that to the threat of a recession, high interest rates and lob losses in sectors such as technology.