Don’t mind the gap: Winning back women in the workforce

When HR professionals and hiring managers become more accepting of non-traditional career paths, a glass ceiling can be broken. (Photo: Shutterstock)

After having no option but to work from home at the onset of the pandemic, parents found that doing two jobs at once, working and parenting—and in some cases also helping to teach—was a nearly infeasible task. Even still, things didn’t necessarily improve once the workforce started to return to the professional norm. Caregivers and parents of younger children are more hesitant to return to the office compared to non-caregivers or parents of older children.

Many continue to weigh their decisions based on concerns around physical and mental health for themselves and their loved ones. With 1.6 million fewer mothers working in January 2021 than in January 2020, the decline among working mothers and caretakers has taken a steep dive since COVID first appeared. And this trend is only anticipated to continue – 84% of millennials of both genders say they expect to take a “significant” break at some point in their careers for childcare or other reasons.