I felt it was one that would speak to our audience, many of whom are young women in the early stages of their careers. Even more so than men, women really value friendship at work: Research shows that women who have best friends at work are far more likely to be engaged, and two-thirds us say the social component is a “major reason” why we work. In that respect, work environments that foster strong social ties could be a hugely important factor in keeping women in the workforce after having kids, and therefore with creating gender-balanced workplaces. And, as Kathleen Newman-Bremang reports in her piece about the benefits of having close work friendships , women — and women of colour in particular — are more comfortable asserting themselves at work when they have strong social ties there.