VANCOUVER: The Pandemic and Gender Equality: Addressing the Regressive Effects

Lean In Canada’s Vancouver Chapter welcomes Jennifer Caldwell, Amanda Watson, and Lewisa Anciano to lead the discussion on their journeys as women battling the repercussions of the pandemic at the workplace. On the 30th of September, Lean In and McKinsey & Company released their 6th “Women In The Workplace Report”. This year’s report focused on how the COVID19 crisis could erase all the gains women have made in management and senior leadership.

In particular, the report finds that:

• Working mothers are deeply concerned about how COVID-19 will impact their careers. They are more than three times as likely as fathers to be managing most of their family’s housework and caregiving during the pandemic—and twice as likely to worry that their performance will be judged negatively due to their caregiving responsibilities.
• Senior-level women are experiencing the challenges of Covid-19 against a backdrop of existing bias against women leaders, and in many cases are juggling more responsibilities at home. Senior-level women are more likely than men at the same level to feel burned out, under pressure to work more, and “always on.”

Companies need to take bold action to address these issues—otherwise, they risk unwinding years of progress toward gender equality. The panelists will share their own experiences as well as recommend best practices that firms across the board can adopt to support women through this pandemic.