TANZEENA FRANCKA IS A SENIOR HUMAN RESOURCES BUSINESS PARTNER WITH BOEING AND A MOM OF THREE. PHOTO BY CHAD AND BRIE PHOTOGRAPHY.
The perfect storm Women make up 50 percent of the workforce in the United States, and in half of the 30 million families with kids under 18, a breadwinner mother contributes at least 40 percent of household earnings, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy. From 2015 to 2020 in America, the representation of women in senior vice president roles grew from 23 to 28 percent, and from 17 to 21 percent in the C-Suite; while women, particularly women of color, remain grossly underrepresented, the numbers were improving. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and wom- en's careers have been disproportionately affected. According to Women in the Work- force, the largest comprehensive study of women in corporate America, 1 in 4 women are considering downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce. Their primary reasons are lack of flexibility, housework and caregiving burdens and burnout from feeling the need to work all hours while also worrying their performance is being judged because of caregiving responsibilities (mothers worry about this twice as much as fathers).
this pandemic, just like she has negotiated a more flexible schedule so she can help manage her three kids’ virtual schooling. Andrea Bryant, director of people and culture for Kimray Inc. and mom of two, has led initiatives to survey employees about their struggles with school or childcare so the company could address them proactively. Kimray has allowed remote working for non-production employees for the first time. While these metro moms have found or created new flexibilities for their workforces and themselves as the pandemic has drastically changed childcare and school schedules, they recognize not all working moms have been so fortunate and acknowledge even with supports in place, they are still struggling. “We’ve seen a rise in the diversity of the workforce [including] women in higher positions, but we’re likely going to see a reverse of that as a lot of women have to step back,” said Matt Tipton, owner of Why HR in Oklahoma City, of the pandemic’s effect on working moms. “Many moms especially are going to quit their jobs because it’s not worth it, trying to juggle employers who aren’t being helpful or trying to cut their pay.”
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