The Truth

I have several obligations as an economic development executive in pursuit of belonging, equity, inclusion and justice in our economy. One of them is to tell the truth so we can be working on the right problems in the right ways. At GET Cities, we believe the truth that guides the work is both an art and a science. The full truth needs both data and story, quantitative research and lived experience. And as I’ve been traveling around meeting with folks again (for the first time since the lives we knew were stopped dead in their tracks by COVID-19) and talking about the plight of women, trans and non-binary people, I’m afraid the truth right now is not good.

Before the onset of the pandemic, we were making incremental gains towards gender equality in our tech economy, and we were seeing that evidence through the data and what we were hearing on the ground. Although it’s true that our progress was occurring at a far slower pace than it should have been, the numbers and experiences were at least trending in the right direction. But that’s no longer the case. We’ve lost significant ground when we were already well behind in the race toward full potential, and all of that while we’re fighting to retain freedoms and protections we’d long considered settled. We are exhausted. We are frustrated. We are angry.

The rapid decline

We are ready for a different reality, but for now, so you understand a bit better where we are, I want to share some of the truth:

• Women in tech are nearly twice as likely as men to have lost their jobs or been furloughed due to the pandemic
• 57% of women surveyed feel more burned out at work due to the pandemic. In comparison, only 36% of men feel the same
• A greater proportion of women have taken on a greater childcare burden — 36% of women, compared to 16% of men
• 42% of women in tech say they took on most of the household work during the pandemic, compared to only 11% of men
• Women are 2X more likely than men to say gender inequality got worse at their company in 2020
• Women of color are less confident than white women about their promotion prospects — and that gap has increased by 3X over the past year
• Nearly half (47%) of women in tech feel their career has been delayed because of [COVID] and 25% of women have considered leaving the workforce completely
• Men received 3x more promotions than women during this pandemic
• The total representation of technical women decreased by 2.1 percentage points from 2020 to 2021.

Further, only a third of the research published on the impacts of COVID have been authored by women. So even with all of the losses we already know about, we’re likely only scratching the surface by not asking the right questions or measuring the right things. And this doesn’t even account for the gaps in research we already know exist with regard to diversity of gender or how other identities like race, class and ability intersect with gender. Additionally, some data (like census data on pay stats) is lagging and won’t be available until the fall, but it’s hypothesized that the pay gap for women will increase this year due to job loss (women lost 58% of the total jobs lost in the U.S. due to the pandemic), job leaving, and women re-entering the workforce getting lower salary offers due to more than 24 months of unemployment. Finally, ALL of these stats are precipitously worse for trans, non-binary, Black, brown and indigenous humans.

A few months back, I had the honor of meeting with Melinda French Gates alongside several influential women leaders, to discuss these impacts and how we can precipitate just and inclusive outcomes for marginalized groups. Their insights about the current state of diversity and inclusivity in the tech industry and how we should move forward were invaluable.

Why this happened

“Before the pandemic, things were moving in the wrong direction. The share of computing degrees going to Black, Latina, and Native American women dropped by more than one-third from 2000–2017, from 6.5 percent to 4 percent. If that trend continued, the number of underrepresented women of Color receiving computing degrees wouldn’t have doubled until 2052 — by which time they would represent a vanishingly small proportion of all graduates. That’s why concerted efforts to make tech more inclusive for women, and particularly for the most underrepresented women of Color — are so critical.”

- Tracy Nowski, Partner at McKinsey & Company

Although these abysmal numbers are largely the result of the pandemic, the truth is that there were so many pre-existing gaps and gross inequities within our country that led us here long before COVID-19 took over. Many of these inequities are systemic and need to be addressed by our elected officials. But in corporate America specifically, widely held discriminatory views about women as primary caregivers, and the sluggish, half-hearted efforts of corporate leaders to implement DEI initiatives at their companies has undoubtedly contributed to the current crisis.

For instance, the motherhood penalty, which was clearly exacerbated by the pandemic, is already a well-documented occurrence that has plagued women for decades. We know that women typically bear the brunt of the caregiving responsibilities in the U.S. And although the concept of the working mother is far from new, researchers have found that many employers still hold stereotypes about working mothers being unreliable and less devoted to their jobs. As a result, countless women have been forced to accept lower wages, lost out on job opportunities, or have been pushed out of the workforce altogether. These conditions, alongside the absence of paid family leave, flexible work options, and affordable child care, created the perfect storm that led to millions of women becoming unemployed during the height of the pandemic.

Regarding DEI, many business leaders tend to treat it as an afterthought or a means of generating good press rather than treating it as an essential strategic initiative. Therefore, when a company is in financial distress and sacrifices need to be made, DEI efforts are often the first thing to be discarded. Economic downturns tend to make employers much more risk averse, meaning that inclusive hiring practices and creating pathways to leadership for underrepresented talent become less appealing than maintaining the status quo. We know the consequences of this: recessions become unequivocally worse for those of marginalized genders and races. We saw this happen during the financial crisis of 2008 and we’re seeing it play out once again, despite the fact that there is ample evidence to suggest that diverse and inclusive teams are key to a company’s ability to withstand recessions.

“Black, Latina, and Native American (BLNA) women have always faced greater barriers in tech compared to their counterparts and it’s extremely disheartening to see how greatly the pandemic exacerbated the contributing issues that serve as roadblocks. There has never been a more important time to dedicate the efforts and resources needed to improve access and retention in the tech industry for those who face the greatest barriers. We are at a turning point for BLNA female representation in tech and it’s up to those in positions of power to move the needle in the right direction — and we’re encouraged by the continued investment shown by our corporate coalition partners.”

- Dwana Franklin-Davis, CEO of Reboot Representation

What needs to come next

The solutions are more clear than ever, and these are not new or revolutionary ideas. The truth is often obvious, but we need the courage to say it and act on it. First, there are the larger, policy-based steps that must be taken to encourage a level playing field and ease the caregiving responsibilities that disproportionately fall on women: paid family leave policies for all genders, universal and affordable childcare options, and increased unemployment benefits are just a few. And then, there are the actions that every employer who hopes to recruit or retain diverse talent should take: offering flexible work arrangements; encouraging personal time off and mental health breaks; providing sponsorship alongside mentorship; and offering job training, upskilling, or re-entry programs for people who have been out of the workforce for long periods of time. And perhaps most important of all is for corporate leadership to begin viewing DEI as a solution rather than a distraction. All leaders need to make it an integral component of company strategy to ensure it survives any future economic downturns.

I’ve written previously about the ways in which entrepreneurship can act as a gateway to inclusivity, but the tech industry overall is also in a prime position to lead the charge in these areas. While the job market as a whole took a nosedive during the pandemic, the need for tech talent actually increased as companies looked to the tech industry to help them transition to remote work. Additionally, many tech roles are remote-friendly and do not require a four-year degree for entry, making the industry more accessible to underrepresented talent. Here at GET Cities, we’re keenly aware of this potential; we operate on the fundamental belief that technology, one of the most economically vibrant and powerful innovation industries, can become an engine for equity and economic justice.

“There’s no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly devastating for women and people of color; but I’d like to believe that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. We know that job loss can often be the catalyst that spurs people into pursuing entrepreneurship. We also know that what’s good for women is good for the economy at large. That’s why it’s crucial now more than ever to support the large number of women founders that have emerged over the past couple of years by providing them with funding, mentorship, sponsorship, amplification and patronage. If we make a concentrated effort to do so, our country would be well on its way to not only economic recovery, but prosperity.”

- Kayla Graff, Co-Founder and CEO of Sweetbio, Inc.

We have so much work to do. We have the resources, we have the intellect, we have the people we seek to serve seated at tables across three American cities. Where we go from here is largely tied to our willingness to believe the truth and build a different set of policies, investments and behaviors that will lead us to the future we imagine. One where all people have the opportunity for economic independence, freedom from insecurity and a life that’s filled with vibrancy and joy.