Issues Specific to Women

In trying to understand this, first the issues women face first have to be understood. The first and most prominent issue faced by women is taking on the role of caregiver. While women don’t have to be the primary caregiver as their children age, early on this isn’t the case. Women having to deal with physical pregnancy and breastfeeding gives them commitments men don’t have. This typically results in women taking time away from their careers.

This time away is almost always damaging to a woman’s career, even if completely covered. Not only can it affect direct earnings, but also the women’s confidence in their career. Generally women face more issues with confidence in the workplace, and it’s not hard to understand why. Women tend to face more workplace discrimination and bias simply for their gender. And there are even select issues that can lead to a decreased confidence level like ageism.

Ageism is Real

Ageism is a term that typically isn’t taken very seriously, but has real implications in the workplace. The age at which someone is perceived can be a meaningful factor in who is hired and let go. Older females in particular endure more professional rejection and bias than men. The majority of people over 45 report ageism as something they’ve experienced.

Although women are also more generally expected to keep up a standard of beauty and youth. Women have the expectation of wearing makeup and making aesthetic changes for work. This can mean losing weight, dying their hair, and making cosmetic changes. And this has a real work impact, for example, wages for women gaining 60+ pounds drop 9%. Losing weight will have the opposite effect of raising wages. The pandemic, interestingly, has been uniquely helpful for this issue. The move towards hybrid work allows women to focus more on their work and less on their perception.

This change can really open up the door to certain industries women do not tend towards. Industries like preschool teachers, nurses, and speech language pathologists are dominated by women. While this is unlikely to change anytime soon, it’s important that small changes can have a big impact. Mentorship, for example, really helps to boost the confidence women have in more men-dominated industries.

Conclusion

Today there are more women in the workforce than ever. And it’s due to small changes and cultural shifts. Things like hybrid work lowering bias and allowing easier home integration. Less workplace discrimination occurring with a focus on fair treatment and bias reduction. And mentorship programs and other opportunities being offered to women to offset the biases that still remain. These aren’t massive movements, they’re the results of a lot of collective small action over time. Women face unique issues in the workforce but have also developed unique solutions.

See more about women and the return to the office in the infographic below:

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