The coronavirus pandemic forced many companies to establish work-from-home practices, highlighted the gender disparity in caretaking work among many American families, led to a decline of women in the workforce and highlighted how such gender divides can intersect with racial and economic disparities.
What will the future of work outside the home look like for women in a post-pandemic America, especially for those who are mothers and caretakers? Jim Braude was joined by Shirley Leung, a columnist and associate editor for The Boston Globe, and Kim Borman of the Boston Women’s Workforce Council.
“There could be new inequities that arise from a hybrid workplace,” Leung said. “For example, what if you open a hybrid workplace and it’s only men, and more men take advantage of it than women? So suddenly you create an insider-outsider culture. The men who are in the office get promoted more than women who choose to stay at home, because they still remain the primary caregivers.”
Borman urged employers and employees to use data to tackle the racial and gender wage gap as companies re-emerge from the pandemic. “Hybrid work situations may be a part of the answer, but not the entire [answer],” she said.
WATCH: Women and the post-COVID workplace
