Here is an excerpt from an article written by Nellie Borrero for Talent Management magazine. To read the complete article, check out all the resources, and sign up for a free subscription to the TM and/or Chief Learning Officer magazines published by MedfiaTec, please click here.

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Today [March 8, 2013], on International Women’s Day, gain insights into what matters to female professionals and how you can help.

Can we “have it all” in terms of a successful career and a full life outside work? A majority of both women and men — 70 percent — say yes. Still, 50 percent say they cannot “have it all at the same time.”

That’s according to Accenture’s March 2013 global research study “Defining Success” that surveyed 4,100 professionals and is part of its 2013 celebration of International Women’s Day. The study explores how women define success, and how employers can address workplace and career issues.

As nine years of Accenture research points out, professionals define and redefine what success means during the course of their careers. Since employees’ career goals and personal priorities take precedence at different times, employers must find effective ways to help employees — both men and women — achieve success no matter what career and life stage they’re in.

Here [is the first of several] steps that can help create an environment where female leaders and professionals can thrive, but as the research points out, these tactics are also applicable for men:

Don’t ignore work-life balance. In the research, work-life balance tops respondents’ definitions of career success, ahead of money and recognition (cited by 56 percent, 46 percent and 42 percent respectively). Having both a successful career and a full life outside work is so important that more than half (52 percent) of the respondents say they have turned down a job due to concerns about its impact on work-life balance. Eighty percent say that having flexibility in their work schedule is extremely or very important to work-life balance.

The fact that so many employees are making work-life a priority may require companies — and managers — to think about it more strategically. By finding the right approach to integrating career and life demands, companies can help employees navigate both their professional and personal lives and are likely to see positive results in employee engagement, recruitment and retention.

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Nellie Borrero is managing director of global inclusion and diversity at Accenture. Please click hereto learn more about her.