Women at Work — Navigating the Post-Pandemic ‘She-Cession’
By Jessica Larson, SolopreneurJournal.com
In some ways, the pandemic sounded an all-too-familiar alarm for women: We weren’t doing as well as men in the workplace. COVID just made things worse.
A May 2021 analysis by the National Women’s Law Center found a net job loss of 4.5 million for women since February 2020, with almost 2 million having left the workforce altogether. There were at least a couple of reasons for this:
The pandemic hit hard many sectors in which a lack of child care forced some working mothers to choose between their children and their careers.
Meanwhile, the COVID recession hit sectors where women’s employment was concentrated, such as brick-and-mortar retail, restaurants, and hospitality. This contrasts with previous downturns, in which male-dominated industries like construction and manufacturing took the bigger hit.
Add these factors to longstanding biases and challenges facing women in the workplace, and you have a recipe for further inequalities and a widening gender gap. Here are a few ways to combat those pitfalls.
Keep your seat at the table
If you’ve lost your job, don’t wait to get back in the game. Prospective employers don’t like to see a résumé with a break between jobs — especially a long one. They may think you’re not prioritizing your career, or simply worry that you’ve become less engaged in your field and your skills have grown rusty or even obsolete.
If you can’t get a job right away, explore contract work or look to entrepreneurship. Either route can show that you’re committed to keeping up with current trends and looking for ways to innovate.
Contract work is available in a variety of fields, from photography to website design, from bookkeeping to online writing. You can provide editing services, open an Etsy shop, or offer delivery services. It’s possible to build networks and experience in roles like that, too, and your résumé will show you’re a self-starter.
Top fields for women entrepreneurs include professional services, health and wellness, marketing and public relations, education, and apparel. Grants like the Amber Grant, Astia Grant, and Female Founders fund are just a few of the opportunities available.
Cultivate your connections
One way to stay current is to cultivate your connections with others in the field. Now that vaccines are widely available, quarantines are lifting and social distancing guidelines are relaxing. Take advantage of that to reconnect with former colleagues and others in the industry over lunch or coffee.
Meanwhile, continue to foster digital connections through social media — especially job-related sites like LinkedIn and Alignable — and expand your network to include new contacts, as well. They may not result in a job offer right away, but they can keep you engaged and alert you to opportunities as they arise.
Networking with other women in (and connected to) your field, both peers and potential mentors, can be especially helpful. With them, you can share experiences and strategies to further your mutual goals. Networking platforms specifically geared toward women include the National Women’s Business Council, Elevate, and Hello Fearless, which offers online courses and mentorships.
Perhaps surprisingly, one survey showed that 63% of women have never had a formal mentor, but there’s definitely a demand for mentors among women: 3 out of 4 women who work for companies that offer formal mentorship programs said they always accept mentoring opportunities when they’re offered.
Mentorship programs are good for women and for companies: Another study found that mentoring programs boosted retention rates for minorities and women from 15% to 38%.
Be proactive with your employer
In the workplace, let your employer know what you bring to the table as a woman — and what you need in return.
Counteract persistent (and inaccurate) clichés that women are more risk-averse than men or less well-suited to careers that involve science or math. Point out the importance of having a mix of male and female employees on teams to promote self-confidence, collaboration and innovation.
Even beyond this, there’s evidence that when women do better, everyone does better.
Let your employer know the importance of flexibility in dealing with employees seeking to balance work and personal priorities. Suggest ways that doing so can benefit both you and the company. (For instance, remote work can provide more flexibility for employees to meet family needs as they arise, while saving money on brick-and-mortar expenses like utilities, office infrastructure, and rent.)
Know your rights as an employee
Educate yourself, as well, on state and federal laws that protect you from discrimination, such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Understand your company’s policies regarding sexual harassment and discrimination. Find out its system and process for dealing with these situations if and when they occur.
Also, know where to file a complaint outside your company if they don’t deal with your concerns fairly and promptly. You may be able to file a complaint with a state agency, as well as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (With the EEOC, you must do so within 180 or 300 days, depending on your employer.)
Prioritize your finances
On a personal level, put yourself in a position to focus on your career by avoiding distractions such as financial stressors. Create a budget and set up a savings plan.
And take charge of your credit by paying your bills on time and monitoring your credit score. Your score is updated every 3-6 months, so you can start seeing progress in a relatively short period.
Maximize your flexibility
Don’t limit yourself to traditional employment. Think outside the box and explore opportunities for contract work, entrepreneurship, and side gigs. Flexibility can help you meet your needs, financially, by creating your own stream of income, and personally, by putting you in charge — at least to some extent — of when and where you work.
There’s no question that women continue to face a gender gap in terms of pay, employment rates, and opportunities within the workplace — and the pandemic hasn’t helped. Moving out of the pandemic now, it’s important to keep striving to counteract these forces of bias in the workplace, not just for women, but for the benefit of our businesses and society as a whole.