In years past, when the Women in the Workplace study by LeanIn and McKinsey and Company was released, I had been excited. Excited to see progress being made (even slowly) and new insights uncovered on how women can be better supported by their organizations.
The 2020 Women in the Workplace report was released last week, and like many other 2020 headlines, it did not bring with it this sense of excitement or hope. Despite my awareness that women are being disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, I did not anticipate some of these jarring data points.
The Data
Mothers
Mothers are considering downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce altogether at much higher rates than fathers due to the demands of disproportionate housework and caregiving responsibilities, coupled with the demands of an “always on” work mentality.
https://womenintheworkplace.com/
Senior-Level Women
Senior-level women are also at greater risk for burnout compared to senior-level men. Since senior-level women are more often the “Only” woman in a room at work, they are more likely to compensate by working more to offset harsher judgements and negative perceptions. They are also more likely to experience microaggressions.
https://womenintheworkplace.com/
Black Women
Black women have consistently faced greater challenges in the workplace—less representation, less support, more bias, more microaggressions and more pressure to perform. Add to this a disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on people of color and the painful events of racial violence and injustice, greater support is needed—but it isn’t coming.
https://womenintheworkplace.com/
The Broken Rung
At the start of 2020, before COVID, the “broken rung” still proved to be a critical issue holding back entry-level women from moving up to managerial positions. Although companies have spent time exploring ways to mend the broken rung, our fear is a dramatic decrease in representation at all levels when the 2021 report is released.
https://womenintheworkplace.com/
Addressing the Issues
Earlier this year, many Diversity and Inclusion professionals told us that programs for women and other underrepresented groups were being stalled and that often their efforts were being directed elsewhere. At the start of the pandemic and in crisis mode, this may have been what was needed to keep the organization afloat. But now, almost 7 months after the first stay-home orders were issued, if women and people of color continue to be ignored, we’re at risk of reversing the progress made over the past several years and possibly losing talent from the workforce all together.
The report outlines key actions organizations should be taking to ensure women—especially women of color—are being supported and retained.
Make work more sustainable. Revisit and reset productivity and performance expectations.
Reset norms around flexibility. Set various flexible working options and ensure they are modeled by leaders and managers to ensure adoption of boundaries.
Take a close look at performance reviews. Revisit criteria established pre-pandemic and make adjustments to avoid unrealistic expectations that lead to burnout.
Take steps to minimize gender bias. Take diversity and inclusion off the back burner to provide bias training to employees.
Adjust policies and programs to better support employees. Create policies and programs that support employees during COVID-19 and ensure that employees are aware and encouraged to take advantage of them.
Strengthen employee communication. Share regular updates on the state of the business to ease concerns and include employees in company developments.
For Black women specifically, organizations should also address the unique challenges Black women face head on and focus on fostering a culture that supports and values Black women.
Moving Forward
We’re still reeling from this information and the fact that 865,000 women left the workforce in September alone. As we sit with this and continue to see organizations taking steps to retain their female employees, we’ll be back with another post on why it is so critical to maintain representation in the corporate pipeline and more tactical ways organizations can prioritize these efforts.