Women are disproportionately carrying the cost of COVID-19. The current global pandemic has surpassed the Great Recession of 2018 and it has affected women in the workforce at an extremely higher rate than their male counterparts—2.4 million women quit the labor force between February 2020 and February 2021.
As companies large and small decide next steps in return-to-work, it’s important to understand how the negative effects that COVID had on many professional women may impact the future of work. Hybrid options, job roles, diversity training and flexibility will be key drivers of enabling women to re-enter the workforce.
Hybrid work options can help
Recent data shows that 75% of employees would give up at least one perk or benefit if it meant they had the freedom to choose their work environment.
As it relates to women, consider this:
“Mothers are more than three times as likely as fathers to be responsible for most of the housework and caregiving. And they’re 1.5 times more likely than fathers to be spending an extra three or more hours a day on housework and childcare—equivalent to 20 hours a week, or half a full-time job, according to a McKinsey study. Employers must offer flexible work options or risk losing talented female employees. Recent research conducted by Mercer supports this prediction showing that 56% of workers would try to switch jobs if their employers do not retain flexible work after the pandemic.”
-- Forbes, March 28, 2021
Flexibility is the future of work. This can mean a few days in the office and a few days at home. It could be job sharing. It could be based on time of day. You could shift to results-oriented work vs. punch-the-clock work. There are options and it’s crucial to explore them as we move forward in this new normal.
Be mindful that remote work and hybrid work plans can also turn some employees off. While it can be a great option with flexibility, there are some who will fill their previous commute times with work, who will go back to check ‘one more email’ after dinner, who will produce at a higher rate because everything is more accessible and ultimately, hit a wall. That burnout may mean turnover for employers.
Establish clear boundaries and formal hybrid work policies. Ensure that all employees—in-office, hybrid and remote—understand that no one employee type will receive preferential treatment over another. Create an inclusive environment that sets the stage for all employee work preferences to succeed.
Job types play a role
Gallup shows that women are over-represented in occupations that have seen the largest spikes in unemployment—jobs in areas of personal care, service, food prep and serving. Job types that have been spared from layoffs (at a higher rate than those that have not) do not have an equal representation of women. Occupations in management, production, engineering and architecture are over-represented by men and thus part of the reason that women continue to experience higher impacts of job loss during this time.
If you don’t yet have a strategy for diversity, inclusion and equity, the time is now. Make sure you have training and programs for all diverse team members at the onset of their hire and build professional development plans that work to support the needs and career growth of a diverse talent pool. Create programs to retain and attract women and other diverse talent.
Additional ways to keep women in the workforce
Outside of the physical flexibility of work, companies making waves in areas of gender diversity (and acknowledging that women carry the brunt of childcare and household management), are implementing new policies and benefits centered around:
Family leave
Fair hiring practices
Professional development
Flexibility scheduling (i.e., hybrid and remote work models)
Childcare support
Job sharing
Gender diversity leads to high levels of innovation and companies that lack diversity in its workforce (and key leadership positions) are outperformed by companies that maintain diversity in its workforce. With 1 in 4 women stating lack of childcare as a reason they were forced to leave the workforce as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, a focus on a flexible schedule or helping employees find adequate care can make stressful work/life balance issues a bit more palatable for female employees.
A look to the future
If history repeats itself, we could see a rise in female entrepreneurship as an answer to the pandemic. Women-owned companies (and those owned by people of color) helped stabilized the economy during the Great Recession’s recovery period adding 1.8 million jobs between 2007 and 2012. The resiliency of women is strong; we are hopeful that the dramatic dip in working women will soon rise again.
Until then, in times of transition, it’s important to keep employees engaged. As women who needed to transition out of the workforce due to COVID-19 look to rejoin the workforce, they will look for companies that match their priorities and expectations of flexibility and life balance. When you experience a life-changing event, as many of us have during the pandemic, you tread lightly when it’s time to get back to it. Consider that as you develop your training, retention and hiring policies; sometimes the little things are the biggest things that set your company apart.