The pandemic has changed everything, but there’s one startling trend that could take decades or even a generation to repair. Women have left the workforce in record numbers over the past year, which also means they’ll be on the backfoot when they return and seek leadership positions.
Like so many things, COVID-19 has had a more negative impact on some demographics than others. Tens of thousands of small businesses have shuttered permanently, and millions of workers lost their jobs in March, April, and May of 2020. It’s taken months to see those jobs come back, and while we’re still behind where we were in 2019, there’s a reason for optimism. But there’s one glaring issue with every monthly jobs report. Women aren’t coming back.
Women have been disproportionately affected by job loss and burnout in the pandemic. In many households, both single and partnered mothers were tasked with their normal work plus at-home schooling and childcare, a strain that saw thousands and then tens of thousands drop out of the workforce.
A recent study found that women lost a combined income of over $800 billion in 2020. The real-world value of that income is likely even higher because it doesn’t include so many of millions of women working in what experts call the “informal economy”, often in domestic service, markets, agriculture, and other underreported industries.
It’s even worse when you get deeper into the types of jobs women typically work. Of the 22.2 million people working in the lowest-paying industries like foodservice, childcare, and retail, women make up 64% of the total. These jobs typically make less than $12 an hour, Over the past year, these same industries faced the biggest challenges due to restrictions and lockdowns. In many situations, job losses were like dominoes; schools shut down, which causes moms to stop working, with affected the local economy, which causes more layoffs, which took more women out of the workforce.
In the years ahead, and it will take years, leaders need to recognize the unique sacrifices women have made in the pandemic as well as celebrating those who have been able to juggle both work and family in the interim. Experts expect to see gaps in resumes or women who may have had turn down opportunities over the past year due to the disproportionate need to take care of home life, whether by choice or necessity.
In the next several months, every business will need to look at new ways to recruit and reinvigorate their female workforce. If we don’t invest energy and real resources into making it feasible for women to come back to work, we lose out on valuable insight and perspective, plus some incredibly smart people who have proven their worth time and time again in our companies.
Some of the ways you can support women and all workers include:
– Adapting workloads and work schedules to your employees’ needs, when possible
– Guaranteeing paid family time off in addition to normal paid time off to help with sick days
– Offer extended maternal and paternal leave to allow workers to adjust to newborns
– Create women-only leadership programs and resources, including female-to-female mentorship within the organization and beyond
– Explore daycare stipends with approved local childcare providers to help cover costs- Offer access to mental health both through human resources and insurance coverage
Women will be back in force, but to put these women in the roles they deserve, leaders need to see the decision to leave work as a part of a healthy work and life balance that we should all value in our employees and ourselves.