?Women left the workforce in droves during the COVID-19 pandemic. While federal data shows that employment and labor force participation among women have returned to pre-pandemic levels, women have continued to quit their jobs at a higher rate than men do.
“Even when women come back to work, employee engagement is down,” said Lora Fish, SHRM-SCP, principal consultant at training firm Applegate Talent Strategies in Columbus, Ohio. “They are just not as into work, and many of them are leaving.”
Fish, who boasts over 30 years of experience in improving employee engagement, talked about how organizations can successfully recruit and retain women during a concurrent session, “Why Women Left the Workforce/3 Ways to Win Them Back,” on June 12 at the SHRM Annual Conference & Expo 2023 in Las Vegas.
Why Are Women Leaving?
Fish referred to a local survey conducted by her company and the Workforce Development Board of Central Ohio in March 2022. The project involved interviewing 18 focus groups of women in Franklin County, Ohio, whose employment was impacted by the pandemic.
Factors that led to their unemployment included:
- Children home because schools or day cares closed.
- Inability to handle workplace stress.
- COVID-19-related fears.
- Job eliminated or furloughed.
- Opportunity for a new approach to life.
- Unvaccinated.
Multiple large-scale surveys indicated that women are unsatisfied with their workplaces. For example, a 2023 survey by CNBC/Momentive of a national sample of 10,278 adults, including more than 5,000 women, revealed that about 33 percent of women have left their jobs in the past 12 months or are considering leaving.
The top three things women are considering leaving their jobs for are higher pay, less stress and better work/life balance.
Women who left their jobs in the past 12 months said that the top reason was for better work/life balance (45 percent), followed by career advancement (39 percent) and then higher pay (36 percent), according to the survey.
“Women want managers to support their advancement,” Fish added. “And they want a workplace that fosters inclusivity and well-being.”
Ways to Win Women Back
The Franklin County survey asked women which job qualities they want from their next employers. They listed:
- Personal and family needs being met.
- Good compensation and benefits.
- Career advancement opportunities.
- Compassionate leaders who “empathize with me beyond work.”
- Better child care.
- Mental health support.
Respondents identified ways employers can better support them and assure their well-being:
- Accommodate their work and home responsibilities.
- Exercise empathy.
- Provide safe workplace conditions.
- Pay fair wages.
- Foster opportunities for career growth.
- Offer autonomy.
Having their personal needs met was a common theme of the survey. Brianna Bowles, director of operations at venture capital firm Kickstart Fund in Salt Lake City, Utah, works with startup companies regularly that want to recruit more women yet don’t offer sufficient work/life benefits.
“The data from this session regarding work/life balance was interesting,” she said. “It gives me the information needed to go back to startup CEOs and say, ‘Hey, look, if you want to be able to retain your women talent, this is what you have to do.’ “
Women also want to be treated with humanity. Fish recently spoke with a woman who once found out her child had broken his arm and she needed to take him to the emergency room. Her boss asked her if there was somebody else who could tend to him because they needed her to continue working.
“We also heard a lot of racism,” Fish added. “Someone we spoke with talked about how her boss told her that she had to do what he said because she was Black.”
Fish encouraged HR professionals to conduct stay interviews to better gauge how women feel about their companies. During these interviews, HR professionals can ask questions such as:
- How can we accommodate your home and work responsibilities?
- How can I help you manage your work?
- How can I be a better boss?
Research shows that stay interviews can result in fewer exit interviews.
Fish concluded the session by warning employers that they are not just competing against other companies to attract and retain women.
“You are now competing against the woman herself,” she said.