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The COVID-19 crisis has driven as many as 2 million women—particularly mothers with young children—to consider leaving the workforce or stepping back from their careers.
Setback
Women are disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Here’s how to help.
The pandemic’s gender effect
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An outsize toll
And while 2020 has been a difficult year for many people, Black women have been disproportionately affected.
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Women in the Workplace 2020
Second shift
One reason: mothers continue to bear more of the burden at home than fathers.
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Predictive factors
Companies can respond by recognizing the factors that predict whether employees are considering downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce:
Stepping up
Companies can lessen COVID-19’s impact on women—particularly mothers, senior women, and Black women—with the following steps:
Women in the Workplace 2020
Article
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Responding to the great acceleration requires companies to experiment with and invest in new digital technologies.
Leaving workforce altogether
Downshifting career
Without children
Parents overall
With kids under 10
10
12
15
11
17
13
Downshifting career
10
10
18
11
23
13
Leaving workforce altogether
Men
Women
Workers, by type of change and gender, considering career changes since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, %
10
27
40
23
Fathers with
kids under 10
22
31
30
18
Mothers with
kids under 10
15
25
35
25
Mothers
overall
7
20
41
32
Fathers
overall
Same or less
3 to 4
1 to 2
5+
Additional hours daily:
Change in time spent on household responsibilities for dual-career couples since the COVID-19 crisis began, %
Women in the Workplace 2020
Article
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Black women are
3
x
more likely than non-Black women to report the death of a loved one in recent months.
How are working women doing during COVID-19? Our women in the workplace study explores.
McKinsey Blog
Dive deeper
Women in the Workplace 2020
Article
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Lack of flexibility at work
Feeling like they need to be available to work at all hours, or “always on”
Housework and caregiving burdens resulting from COVID-19
Worry that their performance is being negatively judged because of caregiving responsibilities during the pandemic
Difficulty sharing with their teammates or managers the challenges they are facing
Feeling blindsided by decisions that affect their day-to-day work
Feeling unable to bring their whole selves to work
To help prevent burnout and anxiety, bring into line performance criteria set before the pandemic with what employees can reasonably achieve now.
Set a sustainable pace of work to help mothers, senior-level women, and all employees facing burnout get through the crisis.
Offer allyship training so employees can better show up for diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
Reestablish work–life boundaries by rethinking norms around productivity, mental health, and inclusion in a remote setting.
Promote outspoken leadership and bias training to help employees mitigate longstanding gender biases that the pandemic may be amplifying.
Performance
Sustainability
Allyship
Flexibility
Leadership
Women in the Workplace 2020
Article
Dive deeper
How are working women doing during COVID-19? Our women in the workplace study explores.
McKinsey Blog
Note: Figures may not sum to 100%, because of rounding.
Mothers with
kids under 10