The easy life of "mediocre" men

Why it matters: The presence and disappearance of all-male boards continue to make headlines, symbolic of the ongoing problem companies have with diversity, equity and inclusion.

Driving the news: A quantitative and qualitative study from Women in Banking and Finance, a not-for-profit group, and the London School of Economics surveyed more than 1,700 participants and conducted in-depth interviews with 44 self-identified women, 11 of whom were Black, in financial and professional services roles.

The findings show that Black women in financial and professional services fared the worst in terms of career progression, the quantitative survey found.

Overall, half of the women interviewed in the qualitative survey mentioned "mediocre" men explicitly when talking about facing different norms. The 22 women noted that men who are average performers have an easier time surviving than comparable women because:

Because women are in the minority in their roles, they viewed themselves as more visible and therefore perceived that they were scrutinized more.

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