Women are on the front-lines of the pandemic. What does this mean for their careers?
By Anastasia Bogomolov, Content, Data and Food Enthusiast; here to serve you (data-driven) stories.
“We’re trying to keep our heads above water. We’re trying to fight for everyone else’s life, but we also fight for our lives as well,” said Dr. Arabia Mollette, an emergency medicine physician.
The global COVID-19 crisis directly affects more women than men in some of the most heavily impacted industries. In the U.S., 76% of all healthcare jobs are held by women, and more than 85% of nurses in the field are women, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Other industries altered by the crisis, such as hospitality, restaurants, retail, education, and paid care work, skew predominantly female.
Looping in ZoomInfo’s data, we’ll take a closer look at the gender promotion gap in industries at the center of the crisis and how it will impact the future of women’s careers. The conclusions we walk away with may just alter the course of the career paths we choose to follow.
The Relatively Good News: Likelihood of Increased Demand for Women in Healthcare and Education Post Pandemic
Healthcare:
As we prepare for the reality of incidents like this happening again (even if in the hopefully far distant future), the worldwide appreciation of those in healthcare will transform into measurable career growth fueled by a surge in demand.
As a whole, the healthcare industry consists of predominantly women. Because the vast majority of those in direct contact with infected patients are also statistically more likely to perform caretaker duties outside of work (like childcare and other household responsibilities), the repercussions of these statistics start to take on both a more tangible impact and sense of reverence.
According to an industry-wide analysis using ZoomInfo’s data, hospitals are leading in promotions of women to management and the C-level, with nearly 55% of women in managerial positions and around 30% holding CEO titles. Given that the average across the industries in consideration stands at around 10% of women in CEO positions, our analysis paves a promising career path in healthcare for women in the future.
“I also have many friends working in health care that I think of everyday because they’re on the front lines. They’re truly heroes.” — A resident of South Boston who, after witnessing the outpouring of support for healthcare workers, became inspired to help organize participants via social media
Education:
Education as a whole, including the teaching profession, has become one of the leading female-dominated industries worldwide. Women now constitute around 60 percent of the education workforce. Looking at Figure 2 (a snapshot of ZoomInfo’s Women in the Workforce data), the education industry, like healthcare, has well-rooted systems of moving women up to management and then up to CEO, with around 50% of women in management and roughly 30% with titles of CEO.
Similar to healthcare, the resilience of those involved in education, the unwavering need for the industry, and the increasing amount of resources funneled into it can positively affect women in and entering the field. Moreover, advocates calling for higher wages for teachers are growing in number as parents get to know the difficulties of the job first-hand.
As teachers and students reunite online, the World Economic Forum sees new solutions that could foster innovation because of the pandemic and predicts that “traditional in-person classroom learning will be complemented with new learning modalities — from live broadcast to educational influencers to virtual reality experiences.”
Furthermore, because the pipeline for promotable women in education is healthy, it’s fair to assume equally healthy career growth post COVID-19.
The Relatively Bad News: Heightened Uncertainty in Restaurants and Retail Post COVID-19
Restaurants:
The restaurant industry, where two-thirds of tipped workers in the U.S. are women, is inarguably one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, with the outcome looking especially uncertain.
“We estimate that, in the last two weeks, we’ve lost 5 to 7 million jobs in restaurants alone.” — Sam Kass, Co-organizer, Independent Restaurant Coalition and former Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives to Michelle Obama
Despite some establishments accelerating takeout and deliveries, selling items from their pantries, providing virtual cooking classes, as well as taking increased safety and cleaning precautions, many estimate that around 50% of restaurants risk closing their doors unless immediate actions are taken.
“I was cooking on average for two to three families a day. So to go from that to nothing is not only a shock to my life but my bank account.” — DyAnne Iandoli, private chef, Long Island, NY
65% of workers in restaurants do not have paid sick leave, which creates added financial burden on women, who are often the primary caretakers at home. Overall, the current situation casts an unfavorable light on the future of careers for women in this field.
Retail:
Retail — an industry already reshaped by online shopping — has also been hit hard by the pandemic. While 80% of retail cashiers and salespeople are women, according to ZoomInfo data, women in this industry experience declining rates of promotions when compared to other industries, with roughly 30% in management and just over 15% holding the title of CEO.
“We hear politicians talk about the loss of factories and manufacturing and mining, but there has not been the same level of outcry around the loss of retail jobs,” says Nicole Mason, the president of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.
An IWPR analysis found that while women’s jobs are shrinking and fast, those of men are actually on the rise. According to the same IWPR study: “the retail industry lost 54,300 jobs between 2016 and 2017; over that time, women lost 160,300 jobs while men gained 106,000.” Almost all of the losses in retail, according to the study, came from “women’s job loss in general merchandising stores, while men actually gained 87,800 jobs in general merchandising.”
Overall, the combination of relatively slow promotion rates and few women occupying leadership roles in general isn’t exactly trending or tempting for women, now or in the near future.
No News Here; Why It’s Just Too Early to Tell with Care Work and Hospitality
Hospitality:
Since the founding of companies like Airbnb, the traditional travel and leisure industry (where women make up more than half of the workforce) has felt its share of challenges — both on the competition and gender equality front. According to the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the hotel industry has been impacted harder by the pandemic than the Sept. 11 terrorist attack and the Great Recession combined.
According to ZoomInfo’s data analysis, women in hospitality make up around half the workforce but hold roughly 20% of CEO positions and 40% of titles in management.
The association also estimates that 45% of all hotel jobs have been eliminated or will be eliminated in the next few weeks, with forecasts of a 30% drop in hotel occupancy over a full year — which would result in the loss of nearly 4 million hotel jobs, from general managers to housekeepers. Not reassuring news.
Care work:
Paid care work, or work that involves giving care to people who are ill, disabled, etc., is a female-led profession, with 88% of adult care workers in “home-based” or “home care” settings and 85% in institutional settings). Unpaid care work aside — where women are more than three-times as likely to work — the demand for paid care work is on the rise as baby boomers mature and child care needs remain.
“…The demand for direct care jobs continues to surge,” PHI Vice President of Policy Robert Espinoza told Home Health Care News. “We’re anticipating 8.2 million job openings in direct care by 2028, largely in home care and mostly because workers are leaving the workforce entirely or the direct care field for other industries. Unless we dramatically improve these jobs, we won’t have enough workers to meet demand.”
The case for care workers is clear: The profession will continue to be in high demand for the foreseeable future. (And, like with education, it’s unfortunate that compensation isn’t currently commensurate with demand).
What Now? The Impact of the Disproportionate Burden on Women in the Workforce
When we look at the career paths for women in these industries, it’s important to consider their longevity in terms of wages (plus the wage gaps that exist within), the likelihood of upward mobility, the existing and widening gender gaps, and the overall demand pre and post coronavirus.
The pandemic opens our eyes to both the promise that exists in industries like education and healthcare and the current lack of potential in industries like retail and restaurants. Using this information, we can choose to evaluate the career choices we make and create a business case for the changes that are so clearly needed.
Do you have a (data-driven) story?
We’re always looking for ideas on unique ways we can use ZoomInfo’s breadth of data on businesses, the people who work there, and the tools they use.
If you have something in mind or questions we might be able to answer, we would love to hear from you: editorial@zoominfo.com
