How Leaders Can Bring Women Back To Work Post Covid-19… And Keep Them

There are  1.8 million fewer women in the workforce now than before Covid-19. According to The New York Times, the disparity is greater for under-represented groups, including Black and Hispanic women. 

Some of the reasons women aren’t returning to work are: 

1. A lack of affordable childcare. Women are still doing the majority of household labor, including cooking, cleaning and caring for children. When faced with the decision of paying for expensive childcare or staying home, often the math doesn’t work out in favor of returning to work. And because of the gender wage gap in the United States, women often make less than men, so they’re more often the ones who leave the workforce to stay home.
2. Fear of exposure to Covid-19, and particularly passing it onto young unvaccinated children at home.
3. There are 6.8 million fewer jobs than there were pre-pandemic, according to the latest jobs report. Many jobs have disappeared due to employers going out of business. 

According to The North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation (NCECF), 44% of North Carolina families already faced quality child care issues before the pandemic. Currently, over half of households reported that at least one adult has lost a job, been furloughed or experienced reduced pay or hours due to Covid-19. In addition, more than 70% of families have had difficulty finding a satisfactory childcare arrangement. In North Carolina alone, data show that the annual losses (for businesses and families) due to inadequate child care are now approaching $2.9 billion a year—and likely still climbing. 

Corporations and leaders can prioritize bringing women back into the workforce and keeping them employed by offering the following support, according to NCECF’s Family Forward NC—an initiative to inspire more family-friendly workplaces that support children and their working parents and caregivers:

• On-site childcare facilities, company-run summer camps, kid-friendly workplaces, employee childcare discounts or subsidized child care benefits. 
• Return to Work incentive programs that ease employees back into work with supportive, flexible schedules (4-day workweeks, etc.)
• Paid leave policies to help accommodate overloaded schedules. 
• Higher pay to offset childcare costs. 
• Support, counseling and mentor groups for working parents.
• Remote or hybrid work options.

By adequately supporting female employees, we also support our children—our future workforce—businesses and the economy as a whole.