The pandemic widened the gap around gender inequality in the workplace, but businesses can do a few things to support the female workforce.<\/p>\n
Pre-pandemic, women did 60%<\/a> more unpaid work than men in a week, spending 26 hours on tasks like cooking, childcare and housework (where men spent 16). Last year this increased by a further 4 hours<\/a> for women, while their employment hours also increased by more than 2%<\/a> of men\u2019s, with no increase in wages.<\/p>\n The idea that women are the primary carers and secondary breadwinners has also been reinforced by the furlough gender gap, with 133,000<\/a> more women being furloughed than men in the UK.<\/p>\n This gap is prevalent in the US too. Of 1,081,000 people in the US who voluntarily dropped out of work, more than 75%<\/a> of them were women. By December last year, over 1 million<\/a> more American women than men were made redundant.<\/p>\n And although there are 8% fewer<\/a> women in employment across the UK and US, women are 5% more<\/a> likely to lose their jobs than men.<\/p>\n Over the last year, the pandemic has exacerbated an already unequal distribution. Women have had to shoulder a more significant portion of the responsibility, doing the invisible labour involved in managing a household and family on top of the typical 9-5. Now that we\u2019re returning to the office, there are a few ways to re-set this widespread societal issue.<\/p>\n Many employers have become more flexible the last year, and our research shows that 64% of commercial real estate leaders expect the workplace to change permanently. Here are a few things you can consider to support the female workforce.<\/p>\n Lucinda Pullinger, Global HR Director at The Instant Group, says, \u201cIt is impossible to create a single policy that would be fair to everyone. Instead, we seek to understand each employee and their personal situation, and how various restrictions (not to mention illness or isolation) may impact them. We then look to see how we can best support them, whether that be providing flexible or extended working hours, reducing working hours, approving annual leave at short notice, considering unpaid leave or rethinking workload. This is the same whether the employee is male or female, lives on their own or not, and has caring responsibilities or not.<\/p>\n \u201cJust in the way this pandemic has increased aspects of the poverty gap, it has reversed some of the gains made by women over recent years. However, I retain an optimistic outlook as, just like the economy is predicted to bounce back more quickly than in a \u201cnormal\u201d recession, I believe the equality movement will bounce back faster than we have seen previously. In the longer term, the increased flexibility and more agile approach to our working lives should benefit both men and women and ultimately create a more level playing field.\u201d<\/p>\n Discover a flexible workspace<\/a>\u00a0in your city.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We Operate in Some of the World’s Top Cities:<\/span><\/p>\n London<\/a>, New York<\/a>, San Francisco<\/a>, Paris<\/a>, Singapore<\/a>, Hong Kong<\/a>, The pandemic widened the gap around gender inequality in the workplace, but businesses can do a few things to support the female workforce. Pre-pandemic, women did 60% more unpaid work than men in a week, spending 26 hours on tasks like cooking, childcare and housework (where men spent 16). Last year this increased by a further 4 hours for women, while their employment hours also increased by more than 2% of men\u2019s, with no increase in wages. The idea that women are the primary carers and secondary breadwinners has also been reinforced by the furlough gender gap, with 133,000 more women being furloughed than men in the UK. This gap is prevalent in the US too. Of 1,081,000 people in the US who voluntarily dropped out of work, more than 75% of them were women. By December last year, over 1 million more American women than men were made redundant. And although there are 8% fewer women in employment across the UK and US, women are 5% more likely to lose their jobs than men. Over the last year, the pandemic has exacerbated an already unequal distribution. Women have had to shoulder a more significant portion of the responsibility, doing the invisible labour involved in managing a household and family on top of the typical 9-5. Now that we\u2019re returning to the office, there are a few ways to re-set this widespread societal issue. How can businesses implement change that will benefit women? Many employers have become more flexible the last year, and our research shows that 64% of commercial real estate leaders expect the workplace to change permanently. Here are a few things you can consider to support the female workforce. Maintain a permanent flexible working policy Around 40% of women compared to 13% of men work part-time or partly from home. This is often stigmatised, causing stress and guilt for the colleagues women feel they are deserting and the children they are not spending enough time with. Fortunately, global working from home means attitudes have shifted, and implementing a permanent flexible working policy can benefit women and families who need to spend time at home. Discourage presenteeism Women are concerned that lockdown has impacted career progression, especially after a Women and Equalities Committee report warned that permanent homeworkers could be left out of the career ladder. A flexible working policy that focuses on output rather than presenteeism will give working mothers an equal chance of progression and promotion. Make access to schools and childcare facilities easier The United Nations Development Programme estimates that women do 2.5 times more care than men globally. This means we need to better support women who juggle a career and family. For example, businesses looking for more agility from their office space can choose flexible workspace providers with onsite childcare. According to data collected by The Instant Group, flexible workspace with childcare facilities is most prominent in the US, UK and India, and the top city for childcare distribution across flex space is Singapore. Enable more flexibility around hours By making start and end times at work a bit more flexible, businesses can enable mothers and fathers to manage family responsibilities, like school runs or parent\u2019s evenings. This can also save employees money, as nurseries often charge a penalty or early and late schedules. Lucinda Pullinger, Global HR Director at The Instant Group, says, \u201cIt is impossible to create a single policy that would be fair to everyone. Instead, we seek to understand each employee and their personal situation, and how various restrictions (not to mention illness or isolation) may impact them. We then look to see how we can best support them, whether that be providing flexible or extended working hours, reducing working hours, approving annual leave at short notice, considering unpaid leave or rethinking workload. This is the same whether the employee is male or female, lives on their own or not, and has caring responsibilities or not. \u201cJust in the way this pandemic has increased aspects of the poverty gap, it has reversed some of the gains made by women over recent years. However, I retain an optimistic outlook as, just like the economy is predicted to bounce back more quickly than in a \u201cnormal\u201d recession, I believe the equality movement will bounce back faster than we have seen previously. In the longer term, the increased flexibility and more agile approach to our working lives should benefit both men and women and ultimately create a more level playing field.\u201d Discover a flexible workspace\u00a0in your city. Looking for Office Space? We Operate in Some of the World’s Top Cities: London, New York, San Francisco, Paris, Singapore, Hong Kong, Search more locations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16034,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[587,588],"class_list":["post-16033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-growth","category-flexible-workspace","tag-female-workforce","tag-retaining-the-female-workforce"],"yoast_head":"\nHow can businesses implement change that will benefit women?<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\nAround 40%<\/a> of women compared to 13% of men work part-time or partly from home. This is often stigmatised, causing stress and guilt for the colleagues women feel they are deserting and the children they are not spending enough time with. Fortunately, global working from home means attitudes have shifted, and implementing a permanent flexible working policy can benefit women and families who need to spend time at home.<\/li>\n
\nWomen are concerned that lockdown has impacted career progression, especially after a Women and Equalities Committee<\/a> report warned that permanent homeworkers could be left out of the career ladder. A flexible working policy that focuses on output rather than presenteeism will give working mothers an equal chance of progression and promotion.<\/li>\n
\nThe United Nations Development Programme estimates that women do 2.5 times more care than men globally. This means we need to better support women who juggle a career and family. For example, businesses looking for more agility from their office space can choose flexible workspace providers with onsite childcare. According to data collected by The Instant Group, flexible workspace with childcare facilities is most prominent in the US, UK and India, and the top city for childcare distribution across flex space is Singapore.<\/li>\n
\nBy making start and end times at work a bit more flexible, businesses can enable mothers and fathers to manage family responsibilities, like school runs or parent\u2019s evenings. This can also save employees money, as nurseries often charge a penalty or early and late schedules.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nLooking for Office Space?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nSearch more locations<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"