By Michelle Fox -
CNBC + Acorns
The phenomenon of massive resignation of employees from their companies known as 'the great resignation' continues and women are in the first row.
A record 4.4 million people left their jobs in September, and 4.3 million did so in August, according to the Labor Department.
To a greater extent, it was women who said “I quit” compared to men
, according to data from the payroll provider Gusto, which serves small and medium-sized businesses.
The absence of women in jobs could have consequences for job promotion.Getty Images
In August, the gender gap was the widest since the company began tracking in January 2020, with a dropout rate for women 1.1 percentage points higher than for men.
The difference narrowed to one percentage point in September and 0.81 percentage points in October.
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Meanwhile, an exodus of corporate leaders, middle managers and individual contributors is also forecast in 2022, according to a Qualtrics survey of nearly 14,000 full-time employees in 27 countries.
63% of women said they intended to stay with their company, up from 71% in 2021. Meanwhile, 67% of men said they would stay, down from 70% in 2021.
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Some women may quit to seek better opportunities and higher pay.
Others are simply exhausted or have problems caring for their children or the elderly.
"This pandemic has been especially difficult for working women, who also have to take care of their families," explains Luke Pardue, an economist at Gusto.
"They have been the ones who have needed to take that step backward in their professional life to attend to the responsibilities of their family."
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Without a doubt, women have borne the brunt of these responsibilities during the pandemic since last year they dedicated 20 hours a week to taking care of the family and housework, according to McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org in their
2020 Women in the report. Workplace
.
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One in three women this year has considered reducing their career time or leaving the job market entirely, according to the 2021 report by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org.
This figure is lower than last year, which was one in four.
"Even before the pandemic, we were not on a level playing field,"
said Sian Beilock, CEO of Barnard College and a cognitive scientist.
"There were still gender differences in pay, promotion and women in senior positions."
"The pandemic made the situation worse."
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The response of employers
More and more employers are offering perks to retain and attract employees, such as raising pay and options like telecommuting or a four-day workweek.
However, to attract women, they need to be careful about the remote work approach, Beilock cautioned.
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Although offering someone a fully remote job is a good option, for women who have caregivers, there are second and third order consequences, he added.
"If (the remote model) is carried out, that would probably mean fewer women in the office, compared to men, and
we know that a lot of face-to-face interactions are very important for promotions," he
said.
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"We have to be really aware of the policies that we are creating, not only do we hope to overcome some of the gender inequalities that were exacerbated during the pandemic, but we really have to help close the gap."
While the solution is not unique, managers should look for ways to level the playing field, perhaps by offering a hybrid schedule where everyone, including the CEO, is in the office on the same days, Beilock suggested.
Opportunities abound
Although women have recently quit or have not worked for most of the pandemic, there are many opportunities, and employers are willing to negotiate, Pardue said.
"This labor market right now is completely favorable for women to dictate the conditions in their workplace, the places they return to, the wages they can get and the hours," she added.
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Beilock agrees and encourages women who have been out of the job market for a long period of time to build their confidence and suggests doing something to highlight their accomplishments, such as updating their résumé and networking.
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"Job seekers right now, and women who are thinking about where they want to be in the workforce,
have an opportunity now to tell their story
," Beilock said.
"What skills do they have that will lead them to be successful in a particular job, even if they haven't worked in that industry before."
Employers should also expand their employee search network, rethinking the necessary skills and on-the-job training that the company can offer, he added.
"This is a real opportunity to create the kind of diverse workforce that we know leads to better results," said Beilock.
This article is part of the
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