“The First Female Recession Threatens to Wipe Out Decades of Progress for U.S. Women” - Bloomberg
“Pandemic Could Scar a Generation of Working Mothers” - New York Times
“Women’s Job Losses from Pandemic Aren’t Good for Economic Recovery” - The Wall Street Journal
We’ve all seen the headlines. And the statistics:
- 2.4 million additional cases of burnout among working moms
- Nearly 2.2 million women have left the workforce since February
- The percentage of American women working is the lowest it’s been since 1988
- One in four women are considering downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce due to COVID-19
There’s no question that we’re facing a crisis that threatens to roll back decades of progress for women in the workforce.
But the reality is, this crisis is part of an old, familiar problem for companies: 43% of women leave their careers within one year of having a baby.
Why?
In one poll, 61% of women said family responsibilities were the main reason they weren’t working. Indeed, the many reasons—the exorbitant cost of childcare, the gender pay gap, burnout and lack of flexibility in working hours, disproportionate household and caregiving demands falling to women, to name just a few—all point to the unequal burden U.S. society has long placed on women, and moms in particular.
In addition, many companies have made leaps in paid maternity leave policies but leave alone isn’t enough to retain new moms. Companies need to shape their cultures to be more supportive of parents, and they need to step up their return-to-work support—like career coaching, support with pumping at work and breast milk shipping, training for managers, or flexible hours for ramping back.
Companies need holistic policies, infrastructure, and programs that extend support and benefits beyond leave through the return-to-work transition and into parenthood to show parents that they support them, and to retain talent long-term.
COVID-19 is creating renewed urgency to retain women
The latest data tells us that in addition to forcing women to leave the workforce in droves, COVID-19 is also forcing pregnant women to consider major life changes—adding to existing challenges for talent retention.
In a recent survey Maven conducted with 1,000 pregnant women in the U.S., we found that the uncertainty of this pandemic is driving them to consider major changes for work and childcare. Here are our key findings:
- Nearly one-third of pregnant women, 29%, are seriously considering not returning to their job
- 45% are seriously considering working exclusively from home going forward
- 38% plan to only use family members for childcare
These new data points tell us that the problems for retaining women in the workforce exposed by COVID-19 will only continue if employers do not step up their support for parents and parents-to-be.
What this means for companies
Employers need proven strategies now to retain the one-third of their workforce who are parents, many of whom are facing a breaking point—along with those who are growing their families.
When women leave their jobs, it adds up for your bottom line and your company:
- Replacing an employee costs employers up to 213% of that employee’s salary
- There’s a proven waterfall effect when women leave leadership positions: it increases turnover among women and diverse employees at all levels, and slows progress toward more inclusive and family-friendly company culture
- Research shows that company profits and share performance can be close to 50% higher when women are well represented in leadership positions
Parents need continuous care and support—at work, for themselves, for their kids whether they are newborns or toddlers or school-aged—to help them navigate all stages of parenthood at home and at work.
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