According to the latest Women in the Workplace study, 1 in 4 women are considering quitting their jobs or cutting their hours because of the coronavirus crisis.
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In another sign that COVID-19 is upending the U.S. workforce, one in four women are considering leaving their jobs or scaling back their work , according to a new study released Wednesday, which could threaten gains women have made in recent years.
Women in the Workplace, which McKinsey & Co. and LeanIn.org billed as the largest study on the state of women in corporate America, surveyed more than 40,000 employees from 47 companies and gathered information from 317 organizations. The study warns that mothers especially may feel burned out, and that those who are thinking of leaving or downshifting point to child care as the main reason.
“Over the six years of this study, this is the first time we’ve seen women wanting to leave the workforce,” Rachel Thomas, co-founder and Chief Executive of LeanIn.org, said during a news conference Wednesday. “We’re at risk of wiping out gains and losing millions of women. If I had a panic button, I would be hitting it.”
The groups said that business performance, as well as employee-friendly policies and racial and gender diversity, could suffer. Women are more likely to push for policy and diversity changes, the study said.
“If women leaders leave the workforce, women at all levels could lose their most powerful allies and champions,” the study says.
The study identified three subsets of women under distinct pressures: senior women, mothers and Black women.
- For senior women who are in leadership roles, 47% reported that they feel the need to be “always on.” They are also 1.5 times more likely than senior-level men to think about downshifting their careers because of the pandemic, and most cite burnout as the main reason.
- Mothers are three times more likely to be responsible for most of their households, are 1.5 times more likely to spend more than three hours a day on housework and are twice as likely (24% vs. 11% of fathers) to worry their performance is being judged negatively because of their caregiving responsibilities.
- Black women are 2.5 times more likely to report the death of a loved one, 1.5 times more likely to say they don’t have strong allies at work and twice as likely to feel they can’t bring their whole selves to work. Amid the racial violence going on in the nation, 42% of them said they don’t feel comfortable sharing their thoughts about racial inequity.
The study acknowledges that many companies are taking steps to address the challenges the pandemic has brought to all employees, but recommends that they take specific steps to try to retain women and preserve gains in gender diversity, which many companies have publicly declared a priority. Among the recommendations for companies: Adjust expectations to make work more “sustainable;” be more flexible; rethink performance reviews; try to minimize gender bias; make policy and program changes; and communicate better.
See: Tech companies are offering parents additional benefits as COVID-19 threatens schools’ return
The report also mentioned a couple of reasons for optimism. The pandemic has prompted companies to rethink their approaches to remote work, business travel and more, which could help level the playing field by diversifying the hiring pool and opening up possibilities for existing employees. And solidarity and empathy brought on by the COVID-19 crisis may bring long-term improvements at work.
Lareina Yee, McKinsey’s chief diversity and inclusion officer, said during the news conference that though the study sounds an alarm and identifies this time as pivotal, “This is a moment for company action. The cards have not all been played.”
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