Studies also show that women are more likely to be unemployed or underutilized.
Once employed, women are more likely to have lower salaries than their male counterparts and face barriers to vertical and horizontal movement in the corporate structure. These trends however, are slowly being reversed as companies are faced with a need to recruit, retain and develop the talents of the women in science and engineering. The top levels of management have begun to recognize the importance of diversity in the workplace especially in the face of declining numbers in the traditional white male pool. The company focuses on groups and their interrelationships rather than on individuals. Hughes has also tried to develop mentoring strategies and networking groups to attract and retain women.