Advancing Women’s Careers Through COVID-19

[CLEVELAND, OH, May 18, 2020] Ohio women leaders are stepping up to help women navigate the pandemic. The pandemic is exacerbating the inequities and challenges women face in the workforce, with women’s unemployment significantly outpacing men’s across most industry segments.1 Year over Year unemployment for men went up 9.7%, but women’s went up 12.6%. The impacts upon women of color are even greater. Over 1 million more women than men went on unemployment just between March and April.2 Women working at home also face increased household demands, including child and elder care. Women need support and guidance to thrive in the recovery.

A partnership between Executive Core and Ivy Exec brought together 3 Ohio leaders and over 500 people across the USA to learn and discuss ways to move women’s careers forward through these challenges. To view the webinar, click here. Moderated by Paul Velasco and Mara Fahl, the panel included:

Nichole Barnes Marshall – Vice President and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for L Brands.

Barbara Spencer Singer – CEO and Founder of Executive Core, a Cleveland-based firm with over 11 years of experience accelerating top talent across the globe.

Dr. Rachel Talton – CEO of Synergy Loyalty, and CTO (Chief Transformation Officer) of Flourish Leadership, LLC and the Flourish Conference for Women in Leadership?.

The panelists discussed the gender and ethnic disparities being exacerbated by the pandemic, with high-contact workplaces like retail, service, and healthcare – where women outnumber men – closing first. The situation is worse for people of color. Data for Progress found that 45% of African American workers had lost jobs or had their hours cut, compared with 31% for white workers.

The Panelists focused on how women can maximize their value during the pandemic, and “build to bounce” as the economy recovers. The efforts need to be made systemically at the individual, managerial, and ecosystem level. “Women’s careers, businesses and lives have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, so we built a multi-level framework that focuses on actions they can take to come out of this pandemic as positively positioned as they can be,” Dr. Rachel Talton says.

Individuals need to engage in Mindful Skill Building along 13 dimensions, including crisper communication, building stronger relationships, engaging new influence skills, and even reinventing their career in a new dimension. They also need to Build Resilience to Avoid Fear, as fear can be paralyzing.

Managers need to be aware of, and actively confront, the so-called Motherhood Penalty – how working mothers encounter systematic disadvantages in pay, perceived competence, and benefits. Working from home, with pandemic-influenced childcare requirements, has exacerbated this challenge. Managers need to normalize stress and support psychological safety for their employees. Women are working 18-hour days to keep up with it all. Identify what matters most and ask staff to focus on that to create value. Communicate effectively and honestly, acknowledging uncertainties, and create no-agenda meetings. People need a space to connect.

At the Ecosystem level, equity and inclusion need to be supported by broadly including people in virtual meetings. Listening and watching for reticent viewpoints that may yield great insights and finding new ways to include them. Virtual roundtables can help ensure that all the voices can be heard. Curate representative imagery and ensure that all participate as we work from home.

Barb Singer notes, “Business leaders in Ohio, across the nation, and globally, need to keep a spotlight on their talented and hard-working female employees, ensuring that painful talent cutbacks do not disproportionally hurt women more than men.”

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Executive Core is a certified women-owned business, and one of the world’s top Talent Management and Team Development firms, serving a host of organizations including multinational corporations, universities, non-profits and governments.

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