"The events of 2020 have turned workplaces upside down. Companies risk losing women at all levels of management—but they also have an
opportunity to build a better workplace." - From "Women in the Workplace 2020," a study by McKinsey and LeanIn.org.
Day after day, more and more women are leaving the workforce, documents The Boston Globe. Or, as The Wall Street Journal reports mothers are cutting back on their availability and hours in ways that will limit their career paths, probably permanently.
The McKinsey/LeanIn research provides statistics showcasing that what might have been thought of as the "Motherhood Penalty" is growing exponentially in COVID-19 time. For instance, 20% are considering leaving the workforce and 15% are toying with downsizing the intensity of their professional life.
The reasons are obvious to anyone following the media. Most children are still at home instead of in-person at school. They are learning virtually. Because of social distancing other activities are curtailed. There's not likely to be a chance for mom and the kids to get out of the house and pile into the cinema for a Disney movie.
There is also the issue of those children, including infants, being overheard on conference calls and Zoom meetings. The cute factor got old fast. Business was always a matter demanding total concentration. That's only increased because of the economic fallout from COVID-19. Some females contend they were terminated because of that background noise.
Although I don't have children, their all-day playing activities outside my apartment window drifted into the phone. Clients didn't like it. It was challenging to concentrate.
The property manager at Maple Creek Apartments, Toledo, Ohio, couldn't do much about it. The best was to ask the children to stay away from the window. But, no newsflash, they drifted right back. Screaming.
You bet, I "had to move" to where the outside didn't penetrate the windows and walls. That was expensive and disruptive. Also, I don't know if it had been because I continually requested some children at Maple Creek Apartments (they were grandchildren who didn't even live there) to modulate their voices and made enemies in the process - but my vehicle was vandalized. There's a time to hold. And a time to fold. I folded.
In addition to the children-not home alone reality, most employers and clients are demanding more. According to the McKinsey/LeanIn research, 10% of even childless women and men might step away from the workforce because of burnout. One of my clients is on the fence about early retirement. "I don't want to work," he first said. Then, he added, "I don't know if I can work.
The "Motherhood Penalty" is, of course, not new.
When women with academic degrees from high-powered schools first entered Corporate America, the message was clear: Women without caretaking obligations preferred. No surprise, I was hired for just about every position I applied for. A plus was that I was (and am) single, therefore the only source of income. Capitalism loves that.
On the other hand, mothers, even those not focused on upward mobility, usually went through the wringer. At an auto corporation, a contract worker who obtained permission for a special schedule (she had a disabled child) felt the tension when she left at 4 P.M. versus doing face time until 9 P.M. Yes, she was a contract worker, not permanent full-time with benefits. The Protestant Ethic spares no one.
Also, of course, internally in organizations and through outside think tanks, women's associations and the legal system there have been initiatives to reduce and eventually eliminate the "Motherhood Penalty." The McKinsey/LeanIn study proposes solutions.
Meanwhile, a significant number of women are pulling back from becoming pregnant. Too many workplace settings have become unforgiving of childcare demands. Brookings predicts a baby bust next year. There could be 300,000 to 500,000 fewer births.
There also could be surge of lawsuits triggered by terminations which women claim were related to their being mothers. Some of those could propose to be class-action complaints. Law firms such Sanford Heisler will likely be very busy as result of this and other kinds of employment litigation associated with COVID-19.
But, litigation is a slow-moving process. By time there is a settlement or jury verdict, those families might have had to file bankruptcy. The more probable scenario is unwelcome compromise. That might take the form of accepting a job or gig-economy arrangement that pays less, has little professional runway and carries no status.
The brutal reality was and continues to be that women who choose motherhood are in for extra layers of extreme stress.
The exceptions are those with sophisticated, reliable daycare.
One of my clients in Greenwich, Connecticut had a nanny for each of the three children.
Another in Westchester County, New York had a sleep-in nanny. That ensured she could almost be guaranteed uninterrupted sleep every night.
In contrast, a neighbor who has a full-time job and who has recently been granted custody of her two young grandchildren looks mighty frazzled.
Reflection: The irony is that the childless among us, for decades, were treated in general society as second-class citizens. Never was it factored in that some of us got it that we couldn't handle both a profession and a two-footer family. My family life has consisted of four-footer rescues.
The work world has become unforgiving. You may be among those who have to reimagine your career. Affordable coaching. Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)