In the run up to Brexit, many commentators half-joked that the Leave campaign was run by people who wanted to take us back to the fifties: Cobbled streets and coronation chicken; God save the Queen and women knowing their place.
If only these seekers of simpler times had been more patient. COVID has done most of the heavy lifting for them. For many women, daily life during this pandemic feels reminiscent of that of a fifties’ housewife. Cooking, cleaning, and caring punctuated by exciting trips to the supermarket – it’s the suburban dream, right?
Except it isn’t, is it? It is a fact that the pandemic has disproportionately affected women. News from KCL’s Global Institute for Women’s Leadership recently shows that ‘women caring for their children are most at risk as COVID job losses roll in’ while the government’s own figures show that the unemployment rate for women continues to grow faster than that for men. The COVID crisis could 'set women back decades' in terms of gender equality, said a recent report from the Fawcett Society.
Factors already disproportionately affecting women have been exacerbated this year. For example, some 40 per cent of working women are employed part-time. Part-timers are more likely to be considered a lower priority when ‘tough decisions’ need to be made. M&S’s round of redundancies last month is case in point: of the 7,000 or so laid off, the majority were women.
We must address that this ‘new’ normal – just like the ‘old’, discriminates against women of all backgrounds.
Studies show that women are twice as likely as men to take on the primary responsibility for household chores and caregiving duties which, combined with the cost of childcare, dictates whether or not two-parent households are both able to work full time. Women are the first to forgo working in the office, instead working from home and all but ensuring they are cut out of key decision-making.
Often described as the ‘mental load,’ domestic responsibility is an additional burden women carry and often limits the ability for them to focus on their careers and rise into leadership roles. We’ve heard endlessly throughout this year about how the ‘new normal’ will comprise a blend of home and office working. Fine. But if that is to be the case, we must first address that this ‘new’ normal – just like the ‘old’ – discriminates against women of all backgrounds.
It is against this backdrop that we decided to poll our members, who are all women, as a barometer of sentiment, to better understand how they feel. The results may surprise a few. Some 61 per cent were considering a career pivot post-pandemic, highlighting an appetite for change and willingness to learn and adapt. Meanwhile, a quarter of our members have chosen to set up their own businesses amid the chaos. Half of the women we spoke to feel the COVID crisis has provided new professional opportunities for them to explore.
Despite the cards being stacked against us, women are optimistic, building empires from home while juggling kids. It has never been more important for us as women to rise to the challenge; to be resilient and optimistic in the face of this hardship. All is not lost. We haven’t really gone back in time. There is light at the end of this dark COVID tunnel.
It is important for us to not lose sight of the bigger picture. We need to come out of the pandemic fighting – building our networks, skills, and confidence. We won’t be cowed into ‘traditional’ roles; we won’t allow decades of progress on gender equality to be undone. We all have a duty to support one another: to remember where we were before the pandemic and to keep fighting the good fight, together.
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