Relevant, but not essential. Important, but not urgent—
On a recent webinar, NYT gender reporter Alisha Haridasani Gupta shared that her work on gender during COVID has been labeled “muck-throwing” or “bull-sh*t.” She’s been told not to turn everything into a “gender battle,” especially during a global emergency.
But COVID is disproportionately affecting women and minorities. There has been a spike in domestic violence during the lockdowns. There is the potential death of feminism — the gender pay gap is likely to prioritize the man’s job, leaving the bulk of home and childcare to the woman. This extra work has led to women wanting to quit their jobs. It might mean a she-cession, with women of color being even more impacted — because female dominated roles and industries are suffering more.
Reporters like Alisha have allowed me watch this unfold from a distance (thank you for the work that you do!). But more recently, these scenarios have started hitting closer to home. Casual check-ins with friends have revealed how the inequities are playing out day to day:
One said her organization is supportive, reimbursing childcare, etc:
“Juggling my toddler and work is a lot right now. Work is providing all sorts of flexibility, but we still have to do the work obviously.”
While another had to rent a car, the only way to bring her nanny back & forth, so she could continue working:
“My husband’s work is less understanding — scheduling meetings after 5pm [and late into the evenings]. Regarding my work, I get that it’s urgent because I work in healthcare, [but I wish] deadlines were more relaxed. With a kid taking over the house, I can’t work. This is why we need the nanny to come everyday.”
During COVID, 27% of businesses in the UK have put diversity and inclusion on the back-burner, according to Tera Allas, a researcher at McKinsey. This is not surprising. Especially with a crisis looming, equity can easily be cast aside as relevant, but not essential. Important, but not urgent.
No, we don’t know when it will be ready again.
If anything, COVID is desperately asking us to pay attention to societal, long-term, deep-seated inequities. For businesses, this is a unique moment to re-evaluate organizational gender equity — so that we don’t end up where we began, or worse, having undone the progress we have made thus far.
Therefore, I’m bringing together real stories, research, and expert viewpoints to compile a special report on organizational gender equity during COVID, which you can download here.
Has the pandemic made you think differently about gender equity in the workplace?
This post is an excerpt from Unconforming: a newsletter about Design for Women. Unconforming goes out every two weeks and also shares learnings from experts, job and other opportunities, examples and articles — all to make an impact in the women’s space. Sign up here to get it in your inbox!
