First, a pandemic. 

Second, questions arising from our collective understanding that the world isn’t working. 

Where is the light at the end of this long tunnel? How do we build back better? 

Third, the answers.

Women are the light. Women are needed more than ever to make the world better. 

Fourth, sadly, the reality.

The very people we need to help us have been the worst affected by the pandemic. Women’s experiences at home, and at work, their physical financial wellbeing have all been negatively affected. And the pandemic has not only hurt women in the present, but also has significantly damaged their futures.

The Facts

Data over the past 2 years underscores the grim facts that women have fared worse than men in the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, men and women had similar company attrition rates. Now, more women than men are considering downshifting or exiting their careers altogether. Studies show that the disparity is largest amongst parents of young children, where 13% of men versus 23% of women, are considering leaving the workforce. Women have also lost jobs at a higher rate than men during the pandemic, with nearly twice as many remaining without a job compared to men. There are 1.8 million fewer women in the American workforce. That’s a 33-year low.  Women being left out or stepping out of the workplace is undoing decades of hard-fought progress, and negatively impacts the future financial independence and overall wellbeing of women.

We can no longer afford to give lip service to the belief that women are an important part of the solution. Until we clear the first hurdles of enabling women to participate fairly in developing solutions, allowing women access to opportunity and equal reward for their toil and effort, the idea of a better world is a mere dream. 

The Conversations

In my conversations with women over the years, I have heard of overwhelm, exhaustion, frustration and, in spite of this, a determination to push on and to be successful.  Over the past 24 months, I have listened to, and heard of, the extra burden and the extra pressure that has been disproportionately laid at the feet of women in a time of crisis. Women are trying to be extra good: whether as good workers, good citizens, good friends, good partners, good daughters and good mothers. 

I also experienced this “extra”.  Unforeseen disruption to my routines,  responsibilities, and relationships, leading to moments of sorrow, loneliness, and at times exhaustion.

The Personal

Between the devastating facts and the overwhelming number of stories told to me by courageous women, I felt an urgency to do more.

I followed the coaching advice I have given many, and turned my gaze inwards. I took stock of what mattered, reflected on what I needed to do differently, and with whom, in order to align my actions with my true essence and my blueprint for success. One thing stood out: I needed to commit more of my time, energy, love, and experience to the acceleration and advancement of women in the workplace and to the safekeeping of their wellbeing. 

Lifting up and coaching women is something that I have always done alongside my career. Although it was never written down in any formal job description, I made a mental note and added it myself.

But now helping women is more than a line in my job description – it is my mission.