Bringing Women Back Into the Workplace Should Be a Priority

Months of news about the Great Resignation has thrown employers into a panic. Justifying the reaction, a record 4.53 million Americans quit their jobs during November 2020. And that was only the latest shock in what has been a seismic shift in the workforce.

Many people who voluntarily leave one employer take new jobs. But millions of others, especially women with child care responsibilities, have stopped working outside their homes completely. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers crunched by Fast Company for a Jan. 5, 2022, article show 2.3 million of the 3.9 million total U.S. jobs lost since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic had been held by women. That partly explains why the U.S. labor force participation rate for women dropped from 57.9 percent in February 2020 to 56.3 percent during December 2021, which was about the same as at the end of 1987.

With millions of women out of work, analysts are describing the economic effects of the pandemic as a “shecession” and expressing concerns over whether the considerable progress women made within the workplace can be maintained. Prior to COVID-19, women’s rights movements like #MeToo and marches for gender equality were producing positive effects in combating sexual harassment at work and closing the pay gap. Along with these advancements, McKinsey documented increases in the numbers of women in the C-suite and among the ranks of senior managers from 2015 through 2020. The first graph in a report titled “Seven Charts That Show COVID-19s Impact on Women’s Employment” shows a rise in women executives from 15 percent to 21 percent and in senior positions from 23 percent to 28 percent.

These steps in the right direction of elevating women in their careers have stalled or reversed over the course of the pandemic. And hope for new progress in the future is waning.

As just one snapshot of the jarring impact the pandemic had on women’s careers, consider an Oxfam International estimate that around the world during 2020, women lost $800 billion in earnings. This figure is almost definitely too low because it does not include losses in income for workers in the informal economy, such as domestic laborers and market vendors who get paid in cash.

The Driving Force Behind the Setbacks

Various factors contributed to causing the shecession, but the lack of support systems stands out. In addition, female-dominated industries such as hospitality saw massive layoffs when stay-at-home orders were issued.

Women who cannot access affordable child care when schools are closed to students can find it difficult to work outside the home. As the pandemic dragged on, women, who had already taken on most family caregiving responsibilities, faced the difficult choice of keeping their jobs or prioritizing loved ones’ needs.

Why Bringing Women Back Matters

Women in the workforce do more than bring female viewpoints to bear. They disproportionately lead with the most important leadership trait of empathy. Research findings summarized by SCORE under the headline “How Diversity Drives Business Success” show in even more detail how creating diverse work teams cultivates a culture of excellence.

Organizations with high gender diversity realize the benefits of improved decision making, greater innovation, lower rates of employee burnout and higher rates of employee retention. When women exit the workforce, affected organizations can see their workplace culture deteriorate because vital components needed to ensure success left with the women.

Organizations should view taking actions aimed at bringing women back into the workforce and putting women back on track in their careers as critical. Two effective ways to make opportunities accessible to women who have spent time out of the labor market are outlined below. Implementing these strategies will help women whether they simply took time off or have decided to change careers.

Embrace Skills-Based Hiring

Experience gaps on job applicants’ have traditionally been red flags for hiring managers. Removing this barrier to workforce reentry is key to helping women who exited the workforce during the pandemic.

Adopting a skills-based approach to hiring shifts the focus away from continuous employment and toward both what a candidate has accomplished over time and what they could contribute in the future. Instead of relying on outdated and possibly inaccurate indicators of a person’s qualifications for a job such as educational backgrounds or years of experience, hiring managers should seek out proven competencies and soft skills. Looking beyond whether an applicant has worked steadily over the past two years enables a hiring manager to find the best individual to fill a given role.

Champion Upskilling and Reskilling

Pursuing traditional forms of learning in academic settings is out of reach for many workers. Individuals often lack the time and money to take college courses and earn a degree past high school. Alternative forms of learning targeted toward gaining specific skills are much more accessible, and employers are increasingly offering employees opportunities to upskill and reskill on the job. Doing this can increase employee engagement and provide the foundation for a new, more effective talent management strategy, especially when digital credentials are recognized.

Helping women become more proficient and develop new skills empowers them to merge back into the workforce more easily and to progress faster in their resumed careers. Being proactive in offering upskilling and reskilling opportunities also benefits employers because people seek out workplaces that support career growth. Today, many job seekers view not offering learning and development initiatives a dealbreaker.

The ultimate lesson for employers is that it is more important than ever to be an ally to women by providing opportunities that support returning to the workforce. Creating programs aimed at bringing women back to work should be top of mind for any organization that values diversity, equity and inclusion and is genuinely committed to representing all individuals.

Employers can start making headway on creating an environment where women feel seen and valued by embracing a skills-based hiring approach and by committing to upskilling and reskilling new hires. Not only will those efforts positively impact workplace culture, they will promote marketplace innovation and improve financial performance.