Working Mothers Putting in Double Shift During Pandemic
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Working Mothers Putting in Double Shift During Pandemic

Working Mothers Putting in Double Shift During Pandemic

Sacrificial love of a mother

Happy Mother’s Day! Moms, you are the epitome of strength, beauty and resilience, and if no one has told you lately, you’re doing an amazing job. 

Since March of 2020, motherhood has new meaning amidst parenting in a pandemic. Throw in sustaining a career on top of that and you’ve got a recipe for stress. 

When I think about parenting in 2020 and beyond, a vivid picture comes to mind by artist Kevin Carden of a mom taking arrows in the back while shielding her little one from the noise and chaos of the world. To me, there is no better depiction of what the events of the past year have felt like.

As I shared in in my March article, the pressures of the pandemic are driving women to consider downshifting their careers or leave the workforce. This applies even more to working mothers.

The following factors are predictive of whether employees (mothers in particular) consider downshifting or leaving:

  • Lack of flexibility at work
  • Feeling like they need to be available to work at all hours, i.e., “always on”
  • Housework and caregiving burdens due to COVID-19
  • Worry that their performance is being negatively judged because of caregiving responsibilities during the pandemic
  • Discomfort sharing the challenges they are facing with teammates or managers
  • Feeling blindsided by decisions that affect their day-to-day work
  • Feeling unable to bring their whole self to work

According to the McKinsey & Company Women in the Workplace study from 2020, mothers are more likely than fathers to worry that their performance is being negatively judged due to their caregiving responsibilities. Women in senior leadership are more likely than men at the same level to feel as though they are “always on.”

I would like to go on the record that I have a fantastic husband who equally shares the roles of parenting and the duties of housework while we both manage full-time jobs. While I am happy to report male roles in housework have steadily increased in the millennial generation, research still shows that women do significantly more housework and childcare than men — so much so that women who are employed full-time are often said to be working a “double shift.”

According to the study, during COVID-19 mothers are “1.5 times more likely than fathers to be spending an extra three or more hours a day on housework and childcare — equivalent to 20 hours a week, or half a full-time job. 

Meanwhile, for the one in five mothers who don’t live with a spouse or partner, the challenges are even greater. Single mothers are much more likely than other parents to do all the housework and childcare in their household, and they are also more likely than mothers overall to say that financial insecurity is one of their top concerns during the pandemic.

76% of mothers with children under age 10 say childcare is one of their top three challenges during COVID-19, compared to 54% of fathers with young children.

Mothers are also prone to bias in the workplace as there can be a false perception that mothers can’t be truly invested in both family and work and are therefore less committed than fathers and women without children. While remote work has grown out of necessity and in popularity — making many days more flexible and efficient — when mother’s take this option, it can further perpetuate the perception. 

Now that family demands are at the forefront and sometimes quite literally (think of the video where the kids come in during an important Zoom meeting), this bias may be intensified. There is a huge concern over how this bias may impact careers during the pandemic as according to the study, moms are more than twice as likely as dads to worry that their performance is being judged negatively because of caregiving responsibilities.

I am hoping to join with others in sounding the alarm that potentially one in three mothers may be forced to scale back or opt out given the vast challenges mothers are facing at work and at home. Particularly concerning is the fact that they’re significantly more likely to be thinking about taking these steps than fathers. 

Dear husbands, support your working wives and take the steps to accommodate their schedules and the schedules of your children so that all members of the household can thrive in their professional careers. We receive fulfillment from our work, and not just our children.

Single moms, I see you and I don’t know how you do it. I implore employers to provide options for flexibility during this continued challenging time and to see motherhood as one of your employee’s most valuable skillsets. It’s not a detractor. 

The possibility of losing so many senior-level women is distressing. The financial consequences could be significant as research shows that when women are well represented at the top, companies are 50 percent more likely to outperform their peers.

This Mother’s Day, I hope you will join me in celebrating the power of the working mother. Let’s unite with hope and optimism over these important topics and move the needle for good as we spin out of this pandemic. 

 

Jennifer Sugarman, President and CEO of the Cocoa Beach Regional Chamber of Commerce, is a busy working mom to son, Emmett. She formed the Cocoa Beach Chamber’s Young Professionals Group in 2016, currently serves on the board for United Way of Brevard and is an active member in Brevard County’s business community.

 

PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Carden, CHRISTIANPHOTOSHOPS.com

 

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