The Current State of Gender Representation in the Workforce

The number of women leading Fortune 500 companies has recently hit an all-time high of 41–yet, this still makes up less than 10%. When you consider the 3,000 largest companies in the United States, the percentage of women leading is 5.5%. Prior to 2020, the representation of women in senior leadership had actually been increasing, even if at a slow rate. However, the disproportionate and near-immediate impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on women has slowed progress toward gender parity in the workplace. 

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, women lost over 1.8 million positions since February 2020 and have only regained 188,000 by January 2022. In contrast, male workers have regained all jobs lost due to the pandemic during that time. According to research conducted by McKinsey & Company, this loss of jobs has disproportionately impacted working mothers, Black women, and women in senior leadership roles. In addition to wiping out a decade of gains, this loss of roles held by women in the workforce will have a lasting impact on the leadership and management pipeline for women. 

By establishing more equitable leave policies and improving company culture, businesses can increase the likelihood of retaining women on their teams and take action against the recent decline of women in the workforce. Providing equitable and accessible leave policies impacts everyone on your team. One in four mothers returns to work only two weeks after childbirth and one in six people spends an an an average of 20 hours a week caring for a sick or elderly family member. All employees–regardless of gender–stand to gain when you have improved policies on paid family leave. It improves culture by allowing all employees the ability to maintain their job while caring for others. 

Organizational culture and expectations around performance are also impacting employee wellness and retention. Teams can combat employee burnout by being more realistic about the impact that the pandemic has had on productivity. Acknowledge how this has affected individual team members and set more sustainable expectations of pace. Consider how virtual work has distorted work-life balance for the team by reducing boundaries. Encourage breaks and assist managers in supporting their teams to find balance. 

Creating a more welcoming environment for women team members will require developing a workforce that understands the barriers that women face in the workplace. Provide resources and organizational support for all team members to learn about gender bias and allyship. 

Finally, train hiring managers to better understand gaps in resumes. Among those who took leave from work in the two years following the birth or adoption of their child, women were disproportionately impacted. A quarter of women faced negative impacts compared to 13% of men. Dismissing candidates based on gaps in resumes will disproportionately impact women over men. Yet, this is a policy change that can support everyone on the team ensuring that taking a leave of absence will not force them to choose between family and work. 

If we do nothing, the problem of gender representation in the workplace will be set back even further than it was before the pandemic. However, through a few intentional interventions, we can create a workplace environment that supports individual wellness and allows all employees–regardless of gender–the flexibility to balance their full lives with work.