Gender equality has been a clear focus for organizations across the world in recent years.  Despite (slow) progress being made in the past decade, there are concerns that the pandemic has reversed many of these gains.  For instance, research from Concordia reveals that many organizations have abandoned inclusivity practices in the face of the pandemic, even as many acknowledge the commercial benefits of inclusivity.

“As we point out in the study, women are 12 times more likely to step away from their jobs to take care of family members, whether it’s children or elderly parents. And if they stay, they may see their careers suffer due to reduced ability to focus on their work,” the researchers explain. “In the long run, women losing or leaving their jobs in bulk will not only negatively affect global GDP. It will also reverse the progress that was being made before the pandemic.”

Reversing the gains

After examining numerous reports into workplace dynamics, the authors found that the pandemic had seen women uniquely affected.  For instance, women’s jobs were found to be 19% more at risk than those of men due to the industries women are disproportionately employed in.

It’s a perspective shared by research from Cambridge Judge Business School, which examines the claim that hybrid work is inevitably positive for equality in the workplace, and that the wholesale reversion to remote work during the pandemic helped to reduce the stigma associated with it.

Similarly, the research found that flexible working policies reduced the likelihood of women reducing their hours, either in part or entirely, which has a significant impact on the gender pay gap because fewer women are dropping out.

Despite that, however, there are still considerable inequalities present, not least in the distribution of household responsibilities.  Indeed, the authors argue that remote working has often entrenched gender roles more firmly, as flexible work gives people more time at home, which for women usually means taking on more domestic roles.

What’s more, there have been longstanding divisions in who wants, or finds acceptable, remote work, with women far more likely to want it than men.  This has been reflected in recent polls, which suggest that women are keener to remain working at least part of the time remotely than men, which could result in offices being more male-dominated than usual.

“If you’re working from home significantly, you can also end up with ‘information asymmetry’ – having less access to information that is informally shared in the workplace,” the researchers say. “Often that information is valuable and may be used for strategic decision-making. So, if we assume that women may choose to work from home more than men, then women may indeed be disadvantaged and miss out on important information and potential career opportunities.”

Equitable treatment

A somewhat obvious solution is to ensure that those working remotely aren’t obstructed in any way, whether from access to information or career advancement opportunities.  If hybrid working is to be a fundamental part of working life in the future, then these challenges have to be overcome.

“They should also think about ensuring women can access networking events and other opportunities,” the researchers continue. “Pre-pandemic, events would often happen after work, right when working mothers might need to return home because of parental responsibilities. With more employees now working from home, that’s likely to be exasperated, so we need to look at when and where these events are taking place; should we have certain days when everyone is in together and arrange events on these days, for example?”

These are an example of some of the biases that exist around flexible working, and how they can affect our treatment in the workplace.  These biases also exist across society more broadly, and these also need to be tackled if remote working is to be an equitable environment.

For instance, we still have unequal maternity and paternity leave, while long-hours cultures still dominate.  While there have been some steps in the right direction, it’s clear that more still needs to be done.

“Women want to have equal access to work. It’s not about making their lives easier – it’s about creating the structures that enables them to have equal opportunities,” the authors conclude.