(Repost) The Pandemic’s Equity Impact, Parts 1 and 2.

Part 1: Increased Lifeload, Increased Support

The topic of gender equity in the workforce is not new. The disparity in representation and pay between men and women is not new. Yes, there have been some gains, but despite decades of awareness, meaningful progress remained slow. Most agree that these gaps need to be addressed, and initiatives started to gain serious momentum in recent years.

When COVID-19 hit, seemingly overnight, all issues beyond safety and survival went out the proverbial window. 

At first, no one knew where to focus their concerns. Would there be a recession? What would this mean for early-career workers? What about those approaching retirement?

Quickly, it became clear that while the crisis wasn’t going to discriminate, it might hit mid-career employees harder than most: Those working from home while managing households and caring for children, while schools, daycare facilities, and similar programs closed.

Recognizing this possibility, the Rutgers Business School Center for Women in Business (CWIB) launched a survey of dual-income households interested in understanding how gender roles in the home might impact gender equity in the workforce. 

To keep reading, visit https://recruitingdaily.com/the-pandemics-equity-impact-part-1-increased-lifeload-increased-support/.

Part 2: The CEO Opportunity

The first part of this series leveraged research from the Rutgers Center for Women in Business (CWIB) to envision the impact of COVID-19 on women. While hardly a positive experience for anyone trying to navigate pandemic conditions, CWIB found a potential silver lining for women’s careers, particularly those who are mid-career: the benefit of increased support from partners and employers. 

With regard to current gender gaps, Adam Feigenbaum, a member of the CWIB advisory board, offered, “CWIB believes that while most CEOs – which data shows are predominantly white and male – agree there is a problem; they just don’t think it’s their problem.

To do so would require a CEO to outwardly acknowledge inequities in their business, opening oneself to at the very least reputational risk, and perhaps fear of financial or even legal risk at a corporate level. As a result, business leaders lean on HR to put in policies and processes to protect their business above all else. These are not conditions for progress – they reinforce the status quo as the standard for success is just keeping out of trouble.”

These articles originally appeared at RecruitingDaily. To keep reading, visit https://recruitingdaily.com/the-pandemics-equity-impact-part-2-the-ceo-opportunity/.

Image by @samanthasophia.