It’s not just working moms. All women are taking on more during this pandemic
This is Working Together, a weekly series on equity in the workplace. After yesterday’s discussion on working parents, I am following up with a quick update on a survey about how senior-level women are faring in the pandemic and I want to hear from you. Let me know how work has changed for you since the coronavirus outbreak began in the comments below.
Regardless if they have kids, women are shouldering more responsibility at work amid this pandemic.
That’s the primary finding of a survey out this morning by Chief, a private networking group of 3,000 female senior leaders across 1,700 companies. The network, which surveyed more than 300 senior level women from New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and San Francisco, found that 77.4% of women who are not caregivers feel they've had to work harder than their coworkers who are caregivers.
Much of the focus of the pandemic has been on the struggles of working mothers, and for good reason. Working mothers are facing the brunt of this crisis: There are 1.6 million fewer working mothers in the workforce now than prior to the pandemic.
Yet the survey’s findings shine a light on the unspoken responsibilities that women without children are taking on at work. And many teams across corporate America are avoiding difficult conversations about how work is being distributed between parents and non-parents, said Chief Co-Founder Carolyn Childers.
“There is some self-inflicted guilt for asking [a working mom] to do it versus doing it yourself that is causing this to happen,” said Childers, who has no children. “You are playing the supportive role and trying to take on more work.”
But if workers don’t begin to have open, honest discussions about how the workload is being shared, the results could be devastating for everyone’s mental health, said Chief Co-Founder Lindsay Kaplan, who is a mother to five-year-old and 11-month-old sons.
“The parents are burned out, so the non-parents are shouldering more and more responsibility. And companies are going through layoffs and budgets are tightening,” she said. “It is impacting everyone, top to bottom.”
The survey did offer a silver lining. A vast majority — 85% — of women who are caregivers did not feel they were subjected to resentment from colleagues who have had to take on additional work during the pandemic. To Childers, this shows how this crisis has demonstrated the importance of empathy at work, regardless of gender.
“It is nice to see moments in 2020 where people care about each other,” said Childers. “People recognize the benefits of having a very diverse workforce within their companies.”
Interesting question - I think everyone has taken on more responsibilities during these times whether they have kids, elderly relatives, etc at home or not. I started a new job as a VP during the pandemic, after working for myself for 17 years, and that brought on more responsibilities in itself but the main thing has been working through who is on site, working remotely, how to have employees stay engaged, and then dealing with workers getting covid. I have not felt any resentment to anyone who is struggling to balance home and work during this time. I wonder if the 77% statistic is that those employees are just resenting the additional work they have and thinking it's from any perceived slack of coworkers.
Integrity Management Services Inc,
3 年Just saw your post from December. Wow. Yes I have taken on a new job proving Quality Control inspections for properties being used as Air BNB rentals. I check up on the housekeeping and cleaning procedures to make sure they meet the standards of Air BNB . Pretty nice job for these times.
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3 年??
Founder | Product-Minded Software Engineer
3 年I'm a new parent and I can empathize with both sides. Having to babysit while working is like an impossible task of things competing for your attention. That affects the quality of work. But deadlines still have to be met and business has to continue, so other team members end up doing the work that was not complete. That's unfair on them. It's difficult for both sides, I'd love to see any strategies for a solution.
Owner at Leslee Hare Art
3 年The year’s surprises and added pressures sent me into a situation that at first seemed hopeless, but has turned into a tremendous gift. I began, like so many, with remote working in March. But a number of factors, including #actuallyautistic #autism, #ptsd, and #tbi brain juries (all of which arrived in my life years before COVID) landed me unemployed and applying for disability after a nearly 4-decade career. I’m fortunately blessed with a very loving and supported family. The best outcome is that the free time allows me to spend so much more time with my disabled mom, and we’ve both benefited in ways that have brought improved health and happiness. I never thought I’d manage to collaborate with Mom on creative projects, but here we are! I wish for all to discover similar joys and opportunities in unexpected ways. #caregiver #artist #illustrator #author #design