Women consider leaving workforce as report reveals pandemic’s toll

Heightened workloads and household responsibilities during the pandemic are driving deep dissatisfaction among many women in the workforce, according to a new report.

Higher workloads and household responsibilities during the pandemic are driving deep dissatisfaction among many women in the workforce, according to a new report released today.

The Deloitte research found that increased responsibilities were having a significant impact on working women as 49 per cent of those surveyed in Australia were less optimistic about their career prospects today than they were before the pandemic.

Representing the views of 500 women in Australia and 5,000 women across 10 countries, the Women @ Work: A global outlook Deloitte Global report, revealed a stark reality for women in the workplace- equality has regressed during the pandemic.

Deloitte chief strategy officer Clare Harding said the findings showed there was clearly a downturn in gender equality and employers should concern themselves with almost a quarter of women across the world who said they were considering leaving, or likely to leave, the workforce altogether as a result of the impact of COVID-19.

“If that happens, it would have a significant impact on women participation in the workforce,” Ms Harding said.

“I think we are at an inflection point now where either we let the gains we’ve made go or we use the pre-COVID momentum we’ve got to follow in the same steep trajectory of economic recovery.

“We cannot afford to lose women from the workforce.”

Over half of women surveyed said they planned to leave their employer in two or fewer years and a lack of work/life balance was the number one reason.

The report also revealed Australian women were taking on more responsibilities managing household and caregiving tasks with 61 per cent spending more time on domestic tasks and 64 per cent reporting they took on the bulk of household tasks and management.

Ms Harding said the research didn’t explore the reasons as to why women bore the brunt of increased household tasks.

“But what it does show is that workloads are increasing as well as household responsibilities so there’s a practical shift in what is happening in women’s lives,” she said.

The research showed employers who led the way in gender equality were rewarded with workers who reported more productivity, job satisfaction and loyalty.

Ms Harding said the report illustrated how important it was to keep listening to the women in the workforce.

She recommended employers consider making positive moves in policies, culture and leadership.

“We need to consider the impact of the pandemic on working families – such as home schooling, childcare needs and mental health – and as employers we need to be proactive in supporting working families,” she said.