Drive for gender equality in workplace is damaged by coronavirus pandemic
COVID-19 was like an asteroid strike on the global economy, with its consequences still being felt the world over. While the pandemic has affected all of our lives and how we work, analysis of LinkedIn data – including our two million members in Ireland – shows the changes are having a bigger impact on women.
According to the data, on average women globally applied to 11pc fewer jobs compared to men last year.
When we look at hiring levels by gender from January 2019 to January 2021, our data shows the share of women in Ireland being hired fell sharply in April 2020 and hit a low of 43pc.
The data suggests this labour market disruption has set back progress made toward gender equality in the workplace.
This is not a situation unique to Ireland. This trend was replicated across Europe, before hiring recovered to pre-pan- demic levels in most countries by the end of the year.
Prior to the pandemic there was already an imbalance, but Covid-19 has highlighted that women’s jobs are more vulnerable and prone to economic shocks and business disruption than men’s, with women across the world experiencing a sharp decline in hiring during the initial outbreak of the pandemic.
While the improvements have been welcome, the question we need to ask ourselves is why the inequality?
On the whole, women have been more adversely affected by disruption in industries like the retail sector which employ a relatively greater share of women and are often roles that aren’t as easy to transition to remote.
Our global data also clearly shows women are applying to fewer roles and taking on a disproportionate share of domestic responsibilities compared to their partners. The latest data from the Irish Central Statistics Office also shows women were more than 10 times more likely to be engaged in unpaid domestic work or looking after family.
Homeschooling and creche closures invariably mean this burden is leading women to either take time out of work or leave the workforce completely in some cases, with recent research from CIPD Ireland showing 63pc of businesses have seen an increase in female workers taking leave during the pandemic.
The reality is the pandemic has laid bare and exacerbated inequalities in the workforce. So how do we address this and seek to end the disparity?
To make up lost ground, companies need to focus on how they attract, hire and retain female talent.
For example, employers should remove any bias from job descriptions.
Our research has found 44pc of women would be discouraged from applying to a role if the word ‘aggressive’ was included in the job advert.
To encourage more women to apply to roles, companies should use ‘open’ words like ‘supportive’, alongside definitive language such as ‘collaborative’.
While Covid-19 may have put the spotlight on inequality in the workplace, it has also shown that it is possible to do things differently.
In the past when parents wanted the ability to drop their children to school and log on from home before coming into the office later in the day, some employers may not have granted them that flexibility.
We have all experienced a video conference call when a child interrupts the meeting and we all accept it because of the circumstances we find ourselves in.
Given that many of us have fundamentally changed the way we work, it should equally be possible to fundamentally tackle a variety of inequality issues in the workplace so that we can boost women’s professional progress.
Key to this is ensuring that we continue to offer the same level of flexibility to our teams post pandemic as we did during it.
LinkedIn data finds that women are 26pc more likely to apply to remote jobs than men. To ensure women do not have to choose between their family and their careers, flexible working opportunities are amust.
At LinkedIn, we see the postCovid future as a combination of remote work and office time, what is generally called hybrid working. It will give our team more flexibility to structure their work around their personal lives including families.
There are a number of other initiatives that we already have under way at LinkedIn that have helped us achieve a 50/50 gender balance in Dublin.
For example, we have an internal mentoring programme – Women’s Initiative (WiN) – which is designed to encourage diversity in senior leadership roles.
I personally recognise that I am very fortunate to be in my current position and make sure I take the time to support and advocate strongly for my colleagues who are currently at an earlier stage of their careers.
To help people and businesses take steps to improve their gender equality in the workplace, we are making free online learning courses available to everyone this month.
These include Leadership Strategies for Women, Planning Your Family Leave and Return, Proven Success Strategies for Women at Work, Own It: The Power of Women at Work, and Becoming a Male Ally at Work.
The jobs market will need time to recover from the damage of the pandemic, but understanding and having conversations about why and how women have been more adversely affected is an important first step to putting us on the path to address workforce gender inequality.
Share of women being hired fell sharply in April 2020
Women are 26pc more likely to apply to remote jobs