Gender Gaps in Organizational Trust: Because It’s Not All About Marketing and Advertising

Gender Gaps in Organizational Trust: Because It’s Not All About Marketing and Advertising

Op-ed by Luis Gavilán, Consultant at Almabrands, and Andrea Garderes, Partner and Project Director at Almabrands.

In recent years, we have seen how companies, institutions, and organizations across all sectors have worked to reduce gender gaps within their organizations. These efforts have led to new practices, policies, and dynamics for managing and promoting organizational inclusion and diversity—efforts that are undoubtedly appreciated and celebrated. However, despite these efforts and the undeniable progress toward equity, many organizations still face significant gaps in this area.

In the “Pulso 2024” survey of the Organizational Trust study, conducted by Almabrands and OTIC Sofofa, which seeks to understand and manage employee trust within organizations, we can clearly observe some of these gaps, as women express a more critical view of both the Trust Network and performance across the various dimensions.

The first difference is seen in the average organizational trust score: for men, trust within their organizations reaches a score of 5.6, while for women the score is 5.4.

Network of Trust: Trust Among Women Is Declining Across the Board

When examining the trust network—which refers to the assessment of trust within organizations in relation to various stakeholders (the company as a whole, work teams, other teams, direct supervisors, and executives or managers)— while trust levels among men improve by 2024, a decline is observed across all groups among women.

Dimensions of Organizational Trust: Gender Gaps in Importance and Performance

For men, the most important dimensions of the model are “Responsibility and fulfillment of commitments,” “Clarity and honesty in communication,” and “Ability to manage conflicts and crises,” reflecting a focus on more functional elements.

For women, on the other hand, the most important dimensions are “Appropriate Skills and Support for Development” and “Respect and Organizational Ethics,” which to some extent reflect the reality we face as a society, where women encounter greater challenges in advancing their careers despite the changes and progress made in this area.

When evaluating performance across these dimensions, it is critical to note that the areas of greatest importance to women are also the ones that currently perform the worst. In other words, the areas most relevant to women’s trust in the organization are the ones that receive the lowest ratings.

What can we learn from this data?

Inclusion and diversity policies, as well as messages and advertising campaigns aimed at reducing gender gaps, are necessary, urgent, and essential—but they are not enough. If we truly want to continue moving toward a more just society for everyone, what we do within our organizations is key. Building and managing trust between men and women—by taking into account what matters to each—cannot wait.

Let’s assess, take action, and strengthen networks of trust within companies so that they can serve as true drivers of change and social transformation beyond their own boundaries.

Check out the results of the latest survey here.