Did Women Lose Some ‘Corporate Steam’ During The Pandemic?

Written by Kailani Joy | May 30, 2023 8:43:00 PM

In case you were wondering: the gender pay gap is alive and well. When it comes to compensation, women have lagged behind their male counterparts for as long as they have been sharing workspace.

In 2022, women in executive roles earned 38% less per week compared to their male counterparts. Step out of the C-suite and it’s the same story. And the pandemic did women no favors in this struggling scenario. Between January and December 2020, nearly 2.1 million women left the labor force. Forbes went so far as to call it a “shecession.”

But eventually everyone went back to work in one way or another, right? Not necessarily.
There were over 1 million fewer women in the labor force in January 2022 compared to February 2020. Fewer women working means fewer opportunities to close the gender pay gap.
So, what kept them away? Was it societal pressure keeping women out of the office? Possibly. The American Psychological Association suggests women were “pushed out” of their jobs in 2020, overwhelmed by the “insidious societal messages that women should be mothers and that mothers should put their families first.”
In their latest Women in the Workplace report, McKinsey offers a less subtle root cause: women are fed up.

They don’t move up the ladder to higher leadership positions as quickly as men do
… and they don’t want to wait around for it anymore
They often don’t feel supported by their managers.
Plus, they are seeking more flexibility in where they work after getting used to working from home for months during the initial phase of the pandemic.

Employers that do nothing to address these concerns risk losing top talent.

Fewer women in the workplace isn’t good for anyone. Women tend to be better listeners who increase team collaboration and performance – among other strong, positive qualities for the workplace. Companies with higher gender diversity on executive teams are more profitable than their less diverse peers. The vital work of fostering DEI initiatives in the office, which contribute to a workplace experiencing less turnover and higher employee satisfaction, is disproportionately done by women.
At Keep, we believe in keeping employers and employees in happy, long term relationships. Women lost corporate steam during the pandemic and they need to feel more supported by their employers in order to gain back that momentum. There needs to be a focus on retaining the female leaders currently in place as well as promoting new women into leadership roles. Compensation packages should be updated to reflect the needs and demands of the modern workforce.
Flexible compensation can be an important strategy of a healthy employer/employee relationship. A vesting cash bonus (upfront compensation earned over time) from Keep offers flexibility and demonstrates concrete appreciation for vital employees. It can incentivize top women performers to stay where they are, rather than wonder if they shouldn’t check the job postings. It could be included as part of a recruitment package for a top performer. It may not close the gender pay gap, but it can play a part in getting women back in leadership roles and fairly compensated for the work they do.
Schedule a demo with Keep to learn how vesting cash bonuses can help increase gender diversity and support DEI within your company.

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