Whilst we have watched the devastation to the global economy resulting from Covid-19, there is another evolving disaster.... The pandemic has quietly been reversing progress on creating #equalityforwomen in work.
Pre-pandemic - OECD data indicated that it would take 24 years for women’s work participation to catch up to men’s, 112 years to close the #genderpay gap and 60 years for female full-time workers to equal male workers.
Post-pandemic, female unemployment rate in the US shot up from 4.4% in March 2020 to 16.1% in April. By December 2020, it had fallen to 6.7%, which was still +3% points higher than the previous December. Male unemployment rate also increased, but not as much.
To recover from the setback — even by 2030 — progress towards gender parity needs to be DOUBLE the rate it grew at between 2011 and 2019.
We can’t sit back - the time for action is now!
What about starting with recommending a 2:1 female to male ratio for job applicants?
What are your suggestions?
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