Working moms have been especially hard-hit by the stress of pandemic life. When schools and daycares shut down, working moms* were expected to take on the role of teacher, in addition to their other two full-time jobs: mom and employee.
This added stress resulted in women leaving the work forces in droves, at a time when women’s participation had been setting record highs. In September 2020 alone, 865,000 women left the workforce, compared to 216,000 men. Women’s participation in the workforce is now the lowest it’s been in thirty years.
Working moms are expected to always be “on,” which results in exhaustion. A study by FlexJobs reported that 40% of working women were unable to unplug or were working more than they thought they should. This is compounded by the pressure to subvert “maternal bias,” the conscious or unconscious belief that a working mom can’t be effective both in work and in motherhood. It’s no wonder, then, that more women than men report exhaustion, burnout, and pressure to work more.
As life begins to return to normal (at least in the United States), employers are in a unique position to implement the lessons learned during the pandemic and to shape a future that better supports working parents. Given the downward trend in the size of the workforce, it is ultimately in employers’ best interest to support mothers, lest companies continue to lose valued employees.
So what can employers do to support working moms?
1. Build community; support engagement.
Parenting is tough. Parenting in a pandemic is even harder. But as we emerge from a year of isolation and lockdown, we’ve learned that having a supportive community of like-minded women can make all the difference.
Connecting working moms with other working moms—who understand the daily stress of meeting deadlines while also getting kids dropped off on time—really matters. Being able to tap into this community is incredibly valuable.
Whether they are groups of moms within a particular profession (like Denver-based MAMA for attorneys) or organized around motherhood generally (like the mama’hood), support systems for working moms are there, but moms may not know they exist or may be unsure of how to get involved. Companies can help by connecting their employees with community groups, and they can support participation and leadership within those groups. For example, employers can offer to cover membership fees or dues and can allow flexibility for parents to attend group events or classes.
