Why Investing in Managers is an Active Equality Effort

In my recent research, I found that women were conclusively more affected than men during COVID-19, a predicament that continues to prevail and evolve, but a close second on the scale of most affected were parents (male and female) as a consequence of managerial frameworks or lack thereof. 

Managers and broader corporations as a whole who refused to recognize the complexities of COVID-19, and the associated detrimental factors, compounded the problems for parents specifically. In many cases, organizations made it so difficult for employees to co-exist in their new reality of balancing the care for children with careers, that one parent was forced out of their jobs: mothers. This should not come as a shock based on the knowledge that over two million women are or have considered taking a leave of absence or leaving the workforce entirely due to the COVID-19 crisis, but it should be shocking.

The reason for this forced departure is “simply” based on the fact that what we think about care and who is responsible for it is faulty. This is where the concept of Default to Responsibility comes in and is a newfound necessity for organizations to understand. 

While the research shows that some corporations directed their managers to be flexible, they did not define what flexibility was or how to achieve it. Further, it was found in a Riveter study that only six percent recorded their employer changing benefits to help parents during the pandemic. Six percent! An absence of empathy paired with clear expectations for managers to follow created a climate filled with tension, mistrust, and lower productivity. Innovation flattened, stress increased, and now corporations face the costly reality of replacing the women they lost. For each woman who departed, organizations can expect to pay six to nine months of the individual’s salary to replace her. 

Managers must receive adequate education and preparation for how to be steadfast amidst uncertain environments. Inclusive climates require effort, knowledge, observation, and consistent discourse. Without the constant efforts of improving climate -- a very feasible and reasonable process for managers to achieve -- it will unravel at the seams as pressures supersede values. An unsustainable approach and one that ensures inequality. 

THOUGHT STARTERS:

If you are a manager -- Consider value-based leading. What is one of your core values? Why is it relevant to your leadership?

If you are a governor of a corporation -- What resources are you giving to your managers to create inclusive climates that spark higher engagement, minimal turnover, and superior problem-solving?