Can The Post-COVID Workplace Be Better For Women?

Research suggests the post-COVID workplace may be more fair for women.

Women have been hardest hit by the economic impact of COVID-19 as an almost unimaginable milestone of more than 100,000 deaths have happened in the U.S. It makes sense women will continue to be the most affected after the pandemic subsides as well. It also makes sense to address those possibilities head on so the future approaches gender equity across all platforms and disciplines.

“Women have been hardest hit by the economic impact of #COVID19 and will continue to be the most affected. We must address this head on so that the future approaches #genderequity across all platforms.”

Some new research says the new post-COVID workplace may indeed be more fair, but it will take intention and deliberate action.  

“Some new research says the new post-COVID #workplace may indeed be more fair, but it will take intention and deliberate action. #FutureOfWork”

Yes, women have been affected more than men in the crisis. The most recent U.S. employment figures are that of the 20 million people who lost their jobs in April, women accounted for 55 percent of that total, according to the National Women’s Law Center. In the sectors hit hardest — leisure and hospitality — with more than one third of all job losses, 54 percent of newly unemployed people were women. Of the 2.5 million people who lost jobs in education and health services, 83 percent were women. Women also lost a disproportionate amount of jobs in retail and government employment.

“Women have been affected more than men in the crisis. Of the 20 million people who lost their jobs in April, women accounted for 55 percent of that total, according to the @Nwlc. #Workingwomen”

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, retail, professional and business services—also with high rates of women affected—hit unemployment of close to 5 million. Women of color were hit especially hard in April, as the unemployment rate for Latinas hit 20.2 percent, the highest two-month jump of any racial or ethnic demographic. Among Black women, 16.4 percent are now unemployed. Unemployment for women ages 20 to 24 is at 28 percent, compared to 24 percent of men in the same age group. 

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According to the World Economic Forum, “The wider restaurant industry, including everything from full-service restaurants to bars, cafeterias etc. is expected to be most vulnerable to short-term job losses with more than 10 million lower-wage positions at risk. Retailers and firms operating in travel, tourism and leisure are also expected to be heavily affected, with 7.7 and 5.1 million jobs at risk, respectively.”

Addressing a modified return to the workplace or an establishment of remote work as the norm affects women more profoundly due to childcare issues, new time shifts assigned, more requirements to adhere to new standards and more. The struggles are real. But with leaders responding to these challenges, the result may be a more fair workplace.    

“Addressing a modified return to the #workplace or an establishment of #remotework as the norm affects women more profoundly. But with responsive leaders, the result may be a fairer workplace. ”

According to CNN, “Research from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found 71% of employers are struggling to adjust to remote work, 65% say maintaining employee morale has been a challenge, and more than a third are facing difficulties with company culture.”

Yet, the workplace cultures emerging from COVID-19 may benefit women and help close the gender gap, according to a new study from economists at Northwestern University, the University of California -San Diego and the University of Mannheim.

“Post-COVID #workplace cultures may benefit women and help close the #gendergap, according to a new study from economists at @NorthwesternU, @UCSanDiego and the University of Mannheim.”

“An even more important channel for differential impacts on women and men is that in the course of the pandemic, most U.S. states along with other countries have decided to close schools and daycare facilities. This has dramatically increased the need for childcare. In addition, grandparent-provided childcare is now discouraged due to the higher mortality rate for the elderly, and given social distancing measures, sharing childcare with neighbors and friends is very limited also. Thus, most families have no choice but to watch their kids themselves.”

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The study shows, “Based on the existing distribution of childcare duties in most families, mothers are likely to be more affected than fathers. Single mothers, of which there are many in the United States, and who are often in a disadvantaged economic position to begin with, will take the biggest hit. Taken together, these factors suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic will have a disproportionate negative effect on women and their employment opportunities. The effects of this shock are likely to outlast the actual epidemic.”

The economists are optimistic that this global pandemic is an opportunity to close the gender gap at work.

“The economists are optimistic that this global pandemic is an opportunity to close the #gendergap at work. #Futureofwork”

“We can identify at least two channels through which the COVID-19 pandemics likely to accelerate changing social norms and expectations. One is on the side of employers. Many businesses are now becoming much more aware of the childcare needs of their employees and respond by rapidly adopting more flexible work schedules and telecommuting options. Through learning by doing and changing norms, some of these changes are likely to prove persistent.”

The study continues, “More men will be helping with childcare duties and more workplaces will acknowledge the need for flexible schedules to accommodate for childcare. We therefore see that the crisis is likely to generate a large, if temporary, upward shift in men’s participation in child care, with a sizable fraction of married men taking the main responsibility, in most cases for the first time. Based on the persistent effects of other shocks to the household distribution of labor in the past, we expect this shift to lead to a substantial increase in men’s future participation in child care. In assessing these effects, it bears emphasizing that the changes imposed on households by the current crisis are very large.”

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Because of the breadth and depth of loss, emotional hardship and mental health concerns during this crisis, employers, leaders and managers are perhaps paying closer attention to mental health needs.

“Because of loss, emotional hardship and mental health concerns during this crisis, employers, #leaders and managers are perhaps paying closer attention to #mentalhealth needs. ”

According to CNBC, “On a scale of ‘never,’ ‘rarely,’ ‘sometimes’ and ‘often,’ nearly one in four employees said they are now ‘often’ feeling down, depressed or hopeless, SHRM research shows. In the near future, it's not unreasonable to expect health care providers to visit the workplace, and for mental health practitioners to become permanent staff.”

More opportunities to share and address mental health concerns—including stress from gender bias—may indeed benefit women.

“More opportunities to share and address #mentalhealth concerns—including stress from #genderbias—may indeed benefit women. ”

Going forward, how the workplace is organized will be different. According to the Commercial Appeal, “One such change will be how companies are approaching remote work. Facebook announced that it would allow many of its employees to continue working from home, predicting that up to half of its workforce would be offsite going forward. If this approach proves successful and is made permanent, and if other companies enact similar policies, the implications could be widespread and long-lasting.”

Pivoting to virtual platforms adroitly will help equalize the workplace.

According to the World Economic Forum, “The requirement that we engage fully in the virtual realm right now is pushing people in many areas of business to learn not only digital skills, but also to improve auxiliary skills such as collaboration, creative problem-solving and openness to new ideas. Managers and team leaders, for example, are having to learn how to motivate and engage teams from afar. At work, everything that can be done online will be, while activities we can’t do remotely will have to be reconfigured somehow.”

The team leaders, managers and entrepreneurs—men and women—who can pivot the most quickly and prove valuable—will be the most in demand.  

“Pivoting to virtual platforms adroitly will help equalize the workplace. The team leaders, managers and entrepreneurs who can pivot the quickest will be the most in demand. #VirtualWork #Equity”

CNBC reports, “As the coronavirus pandemic continues to force millions of employees to work from home, experts predict these flexible work options could be here to stay. And according to Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, these policies could have a positive benefit on working women, allowing them to ‘make a schedule around the other responsibilities they have.’”   

CNBC continues, “To that end, expect a generally more agile way of working and communicating with colleagues: More meetings will become emails, and more emails will become instant messages. For team members who no longer work together in a central office, phone calls and meetings may move to video.”

“I think you’ll see a new norm around trust and respect in the ways employers manage their staff moving forward,” career coach Julie Kratz tells CNBC. “With many employees successfully working from home now, it will be a lot harder for employers to deny flexibility around work hours and work settings.”  

In a recent article in Harvard Business Review, Colleen Ammerman, director of the Gender Initiative at Harvard Business School and Boris Groysberg, Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, Faculty Affiliate at the HBS Gender Initiative, authors of the forthcoming book, Glass Half Broken: Shattering the Barriers that Still Hold Women Back at Work, write that post-COVID the dangers of gender bias are still prevalent. Yet, acknowledging and acting fairly in the face of just bias can even the field.

“As a leader, you can foster an environment where questioning women’s competence on the basis of their caregiving roles is not accepted. And leaders who themselves have children at home — whether they are a man or a woman — can be vocal and transparent about juggling their responsibilities and the importance of their family role. Now is not the time to encourage the ideal-worker norm — not only will you look out of touch and callous for expecting employees to put work first at this time, you will entrench the gender biases that cast women as inherently less competent and valuable,” they write.

The HBR authors continue, “Make sure that women have a seat at the virtual table. With pressure to make decisions as efficiently as possible, taking the time to ask whose voice needs to be heard could feel like a luxury. Your impulse might be to huddle with smaller groups but this instinct will not serve you well. You’re likely to find yourself looking at a gallery of faces very similar to your own — those you feel most comfortable with. We’ve heard from women who have found themselves unexpectedly left out of important calls, and who don’t feel valued and now see their future at the company quite differently. Take the extra time to think about whether you are including everyone who should have input, and direct your reports who manage others to do the same.”

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