While scientific advances have allowed us to make steady progress in combatting COVID-19, the pandemic continues to disproportionately impact women in the workforce. According to a fact sheet from the National Women’s Law Center, the January 2022 Labor Department monthly jobs report shows men have recouped all their labor force losses since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, but 1 million fewer women are in the workforce as compared to the start of the pandemic. Many underlying factors are believed to be at play behind this statistic, including the fact that women are still far more likely to be their family’s primary caregivers and therefore more likely to be impacted by the continuing COVID-related school and daycare closures. But, corporate actions, or inaction, may also be contributing factors. Companies risk both short- and long-term impacts to the representativeness and diversity of their talent pool and leadership pipeline without specific corporate action to understand and address the persistent gap in workforce participation.
Sources:
U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics; Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age; January 2022
National Women’s Law Center; Men Have Now Recouped Their Pandemic-Related Labor Force Losses While Women Lag Behind; February 2022