Now What? 4 Smart Ways To Navigate Post-Pandemic She-cession

You can put yourself at the center of the recovery with these smart tips to handle the post-COVID workplace.

It’s no secret that women have struggled to find equality with men in the workplace, both in terms of treatment and salary. Discrimination — overt and subtle, conscious and unconscious — has been common in workplaces across the country, and the wage gap has been a constant. Equal pay still isn’t a reality.

“Some progress has been made on #equality in the #workplace, but the pandemic set many women back again. Women’s #unemployment has risen to 16.2% in April 2020, more than 2.5 percentage points higher than for men.”

Some progress has been made, but then the pandemic hit and set many women back again. Women’s unemployment has risen to 16.2% in April 2020, more than 2.5 percentage points higher than the jobless rate for men. More than 1.8 million women’s jobs disappeared and haven’t returned, for at least a couple of significant reasons:

Many employees were laid off and unable to return to sectors hit hard by the pandemic like bars and restaurants, hotels, hair salons, and retail stores, which employed large numbers of women. Others — many working moms forced to choose between their careers and looking out for kids without preschool or on-campus education options — simply chose not to return. 

Daycare centers closed at an alarming rate as social distancing requirements, extra investments in personal protective equipment, and declining enrollments created a perfect storm. 

Women employed in child care lost their jobs, while those who depended on their services had nowhere to turn. Many daycare operators who managed to stay open only did so through deficit spending, taking out loans, or digging into their personal finances.

We’re finding ways to meet these challenges as vaccines reduce COVID infection rates and the pandemic eases, but they all take determination, creativity, and hard work to implement.

“We’re finding ways to meet these #genderequality challenges as vaccines reduce #COVID infection rates and the pandemic eases, but they all take determination, creativity, and hard work to implement. #workplace”

Consider a Different Approach. With work disappearing in some areas that have traditionally employed large numbers of women, new approaches are necessary. In fact, even though service and hospitality jobs are opening back up, a labor shortage in fast food has persisted, indicating that pre-pandemic working conditions and pay might not be sufficient anymore.

Overall, people are quitting jobs by the millions, using post-pandemic freedom as their opportunity to make a new start. This reshuffling of the deck gives women an opportunity to move into new and potentially more lucrative and rewarding careers.

If you were in one place for a long time and find yourself between jobs, now might be the perfect time for a reset. Think about going back to school, or seeking out online courses or training. 

“If you were in one place for a long time and find yourself between jobs, now might be the perfect time for a reset. Think about going back to school, or seeking out online courses or training. #careerchange #restartcareer”

Check into contracting and self-employment options. Or, if you’re traditionally employed and happy with your career, consider asking your employer for cross-training opportunities so you can branch out. This will make you both more valuable to your present employer and more marketable if you decide to pursue other options.

Take Stock of Your Financial Situation. More and more, working mothers are in charge of household finances. In fact, 60% of working moms manage their household finances alone, with only 30% sharing those responsibilities with their spouses if they have one.

That’s a lot of pressure. So it’s a good idea to do whatever you can to take the pressure off. Budgeting apps and spreadsheet programs can help. Having a good retirement plan in place can offer more peace of mind — if you have access to a 401(k) with an employee match at work, it’s a good idea to take advantage of it.

Another way to take the pressure off is to build good credit with long-term strategies that can pay dividends after COVID is history. Order a free copy of your credit report, available annually, and see where you need to improve. Pay down debt, resolve any late payments, and be selective about applying for new credit.

Advocate for Yourself. Fight for what you want and need. If you need child care help from your employer, ask for it. Explore options such as flexible schedules, 4-10 weeks (four 10-hour days instead of five 8-hour days), and family leave. 

“Advocate for Yourself. Fight for what you want and need. If you need #childcare help from your employer, ask for it. Explore options such as flexible schedules, and family leave. #flexibleworking #workingwomen”

If you need to keep working from home to make employment and family obligations mesh, try to find a way to do that. Ask about on-site or discounted child care options. Look into a Dependent Care FSA (flexible spending account), which allows you to use pretax dollars to pay qualified out-of-pocket dependent care expenses.

In advance of these explorations, you may want to familiarize yourself with your company’s procedures for on-site discrimination and workplace harassment, and know what your options are should they occur. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has a list of suggested actions you can take if you believe you’ve been harassed at work.

Investigate Returnships. A number of companies offer “returnship” programs for women: mid-career internships for employees who have stepped away from their careers and are ready to get back into the workforce. They might be an especially useful option for women who’ve taken time off during the pandemic to care for their children, once those kids are heading back to school.

“Investigate Returnships. A number of companies offer “returnship” programs for women: mid-career internships for employees who have stepped away from their careers and are ready to get back into the workforce. #returnship #backtowork”

The “she-cession” has created a raft of challenges for women, but it’s also made for some new and different opportunities as new fields and positions open up, post-pandemic. With some creative thinking and determination, those opportunities could yield a new, rewarding reality.

“The “she-cession” has created a raft of challenges for women, but it’s also made for some new and different opportunities as new fields and positions open up, post-pandemic. #SHEcession #workingmom #workingwomen”

 Jessica Larson is a writer and “serial entrepreneur,” starting and running several successful businesses. She creates online courses for students, and can be found.SolopreneurJournal.com.