What it will take to build a better workplace, post-pandemic

This is Working Together, a weekly series on the changing face of U.S. business. These are challenging times and we are all trying to work out what the coronavirus means for our lives and for our careers. If there are topics related to the virus that you’d like us to discuss as a community, let me know. I’m at home thinking about this crisis constantly, just like you are. 

Sallie Krawcheck was CEO of Citi Wealth Management when the last financial crisis began in 2007. While the stock market drop was a natural outcome of the crisis, Krawcheck remembers something else went in a dire direction as well: Gender diversity in financial services. 

When Krawcheck considers what the workplace will look like after the coronavirus pandemic, she’s hopeful that we’ll see the opposite dynamic this time around.  

“If this doesn’t help us drive diversity, I just don’t know what else is going to,” Krawcheck, who is now the co-founder and CEO of Ellevest, told me last week on Business Unusual, LinkedIn’s live show on the changing face of U.S. business. “Who thinks the pandemic would have been worse if more moms were in charge? Nobody.”

The coronavirus pandemic — like all historic crises— presents an opportunity for cultural change. In 2019, less than a third of senior management positions in North America were held by women. With the virus forcing large portions of the American workforce to work from home, many businesses are adopting flexible work policies for the first time. Meanwhile, leadership traits that are typically associated with women, like empathy and vulnerability, are now held in high regard as executives help customers and employees weather this crisis. Both of these factors could be a boon for female talent across several industries. 

But the pandemic may end up hurting women as well. 

Pre-coronavirus, women performed a majority of household chores. Now, the responsibilities of working parents have only increased in the wake of the pandemic, as many homeschool their children while keeping up with work. Some 62% of corporate mothers are now the primary childcare provider for their kids, according to a recent survey of women leaders by Aneuvia Asset Management and Advisory Services highlighted on LinkedIn by Chairman Mom Founder Sarah Lacy. These women face an increased risk of burnout and illness. They’re also potentially at a greater risk of layoffs and unemployment. Early data from the Department of Labor indicates that women are already filing for unemployment at a faster clip than their male peers.

In conversations I’ve had with executives since the pandemic began, one thing has become clear: Leaders have a choice. They can treat this crisis as a time to rethink how they build teams and how they define success at work. Or, this crisis could be like the last one, with executives opting to invest in other efforts. 

I know Krawcheck isn’t the only one who hopes most company leaders make the right choice this time around. 

I want to hear from you: How has your company leadership responded to the coronavirus? Which policies have changed? Do you feel supported by your manager? Let me know in the comments below or send me an email at [email protected]. 

What’s Working

Startup leadership mid-pandemic. To be an entrepreneur means operating amid uncertainty. But leading an early-stage startup during a global pandemic brings in a whole array of challenges that not even the most bullish founder could plan for. I sat down with Anu Duggal of Female Founders Fund and three startup founders to hear how they are leading through this crisis. Check it out above. 

‘Resilient, dedicated, and motivated.’ Disability, trauma, isolation and more can lead workers to choose remote work versus going into the office every day. We Are Rosie Founder Stephanie Nadi Olson put a callout on LinkedIn for companies post-pandemic to be more accepting of remote work so they can build more inclusive teams. “I call on our industry to destigmatize remote work and remove shame for those who want or need to work in this way,” she wrote. [LinkedIn] 

What Needs Work

Most essential. While men comprise a majority of the workforce during normal times, the pandemic has reversed that. One in three jobs held by women have been deemed essential with nonwhite women more likely to be doing essential jobs in fields like social work, health care, and retail. Having a job now is good, but everyone on the frontlines is putting themselves at risk when they start their shift. [NYTimes] 

Family plans upended. About 1 in 3 respondents women with ovaries said they’ve changed their fertility and family planning decisions because of COVID-19, according to a survey by Modern Fertility and SoFi. Money concerns are the biggest reason reason why women are delaying having kids, with 60% of those delaying saying it’s because they don’t have enough money saved. [LinkedIn]

#WomenOnTheFrontlines

What topics do you want to discuss next week? Let me know in the comments below using #WorkingTogether