One Step Backwards for Womankind

This pandemic has not been kind to men. According to a study published by the journal Nature in August, men produce a weaker immune response to COVID-19 than women, meaning that infected males, especially those over age 60, are up to twice as likely to get very ill or die of the disease compared to women of the same age.

While men are – unfairly and tragically – at a disadvantage in terms of the disease itself, women are bearing the brunt of other disadvantages during the pandemic, particularly those that relate to financial health and career advancement.

With traditionally female-dominated industries suffering the biggest economic hits, and families being slammed by additional childcare responsibilities, women have been placed under a disproportionate level of financial strain. Some are even calling the current economic downturn a “shecession” (awful term, by the way, but it at least draws attention to the hardships women are facing). In the recent study “The Shecession (She-recession) of 2020: Causes and Consequences” from the Centre for Economic Policy Research’s VoxEU, authors – using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics – found the recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has increased women’s unemployment by 2.9 percentage points over men. The authors, from Northwestern University, the University of California, San Diego and the University of Mannheim, also found that as of August, women’s employment was still 20% below the pre-recession level compared to 9% for men. There are two culprits for the disparities.

“First, women’s employment is concentrated in sectors that are relatively stable in typical business cycles, but were strongly affected by the shutdown and social distancing measures during the pandemic,” the authors wrote. “Second, as schools and daycare centres were shut down, parents’ childcare needs multiplied. Women have provided the majority of additional childcare during the crisis, leaving many of them unable to work.”

Yes, remember that New York Times poll from May, which found that while nearly half of fathers with children under 12 believed they were helping the most with home-schooling/distance-learning, only 3% of mothers agreed that they were? And as if wearing the hats of teacher, parent and employee (for working mothers, that is) at the same time isn’t enough, women are piling on the full-time housekeeper hat as well. The study “Women in the Workplace 2020” by LeanIn.org and McKinsey & Company found that since the start of the pandemic, mothers that are part of a dual-career couple are twice as likely as fathers in a dual-career couple to spend five more hours a day on chores.

Other findings in the McKinsey study were particularly unsettling for female professionals with young children who aspire to get ahead in their careers. Seventeen percent of women with kids under 10 have considered downshifting their careers by reducing their hours, moving to part-time or switching to a less demanding job since the start of the crisis, compared to 13% of men with children under 10; 23% of women with kids under 10 thought about taking a leave of absence or leaving the workforce entirely, compared to 13% of dads with kids under 10.

Depending on how many of these women act on their considerations, workplaces nationwide could see the progress that has been made in terms of placing more women into leadership roles over the past six years erased, the study said. And that’s bad for business.

“Research shows that company profits and share performance can be close to 50% higher when women are well represented at the top,” the study said. “Beyond that, senior-level women have a vast and meaningful impact on a company’s culture.” It noted that women are more likely to spearhead employee-friendly policies and programs, promote racial and gender diversity, and serve as mentors and sponsors for other women. “If women leaders leave the workforce, women at all levels could lose their most powerful allies and champions,” the study warned.

In true 2020 fashion, the news gets even worse. Black women, who have always faced barriers to professional advancement, are facing distinct issues because of their race, according to the study. Not only have the COVID-19 pandemic and incidents of racial injustice taken a disproportionate toll on the mental and physical health of Black people this year, but Black women are less likely than women of other races or men of all races to feel supported by their manager. Seventy-five percent of Black women agreed with the statement, “I feel support from my manager,” compared to 80% of Black men, 83% of Hispanic women, and 84% of both Asian and white women.

Women of all races were already struggling to catch up with men in the workplace pre-pandemic, and those in the credit union industry have been no exception. According to a 2018 CUNA study, 52% of credit union CEOs are women, however, they disproportionately lead small credit unions. One in five CEOs of credit unions with assets between $100 million and $500 million are women, and only 14% of CEOs of credit unions with $1 billion or more in assets are female.

Like most of the big problems that have emerged in 2020, this isn’t one that can be solved by one employer or industry. But credit unions can take several steps to help soften the blow:

• Extend understanding, flexibility and patience to employees who were suddenly thrust into juggling work and childcare at home by no choice of their own. Based on what we’ve heard from CEOs so far, credit unions have already been doing a great job of this, with some saying that background noise from kids and pets during Zoom calls has become an accepted norm. The McKinsey study noted, however, to be mindful not to display gender bias as a result of these types of calls, as women with children playing in the background can sometimes be perceived as less serious about their work.
• If you’re able to, expand your credit union’s benefits program to provide greater support to employees with additional caregiving responsibilities during the pandemic, for example by offering more paid leave.
• Reflect on what your expectations were for employees pre-pandemic, assess whether those expectations are still realistic today, and adjust accordingly. Also, encourage better work-life balance for remote employees by designating specific working hours that still allow them to meet personal and family obligations, and refrain from contacting employees during “off” hours.
• Hire and promote more women into leadership positions, and consider what types of programs could be implemented to support the professional advancement of women, especially Black women.

Women have always gotten the short end of the stick in the workplace. As this crisis worsens and takes new twists and turns, let’s work to make sure they still have an end of the stick to hold onto.

Natasha Chilingerian is executive editor for CU Times. She can be reached at nchilingerian@cutimes.com.