Working Moms and the ‘Double Shift’ Burden
Over the past year, research shows just how dramatically the pandemic continues to affect working moms… and it’s not looking good at all.
The pandemic has made that glass ceiling that much harder to break.
Before the pandemic, working mothers had similar career ambitions as working women overall. But the pandemic altered that equation as the added burdens at work and at home began pushing working mothers to reconsider their careers or leave their jobs altogether.
According to the McKinsey’s 2020 Women in the Workplace report, one in four working women in North America said that they were considering downshifting their careers or dropping out of the workforce entirely. For working mothers, and particularly those with young children, the number was one in three.
In a workforce that already discriminates against women in the promotion pipeline, a step back from employment may upend years of progress. The gender-related effects caused by the pandemic not only harm the immediate economic security for millions of women and their families but also long-term economic growth and social stability,
Maternal mental health has taken a big hit.
Anxiety, stress-related burnout and mental health challenges have emerged as significant issues for all workers during the pandemic, but globally, the impact on women has been startling. Surveys on diverse employees showed that across both advanced and developing countries, 75% of mothers are more likely than fathers to be struggling with mental health concerns.
Similarly in the case of remote work, while all workers were experiencing some degree of disruption, the impact on working mothers versus working fathers was evident. Remote-working mothers showed much lower levels of well-being than remote-working fathers.
The ‘double shift’ burden has grown.
We already know that after decades of research, 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.”
Now, women, and mothers in particular, are taking on an even heavier load. Mothers are more than three times as likely as fathers to be responsible for most of the housework and caregiving during the pandemic.
In fact, they are 1.5 times more likely than fathers to spend an additional three or more hours per day on housework and childcare. Single mothers have faced even greater loads—10 percent more single mothers report spending an additional three or more hours per day on housework and childcare than mothers overall.
Working mothers aren’t being recognized for time spent, either. More than 70 percent of heterosexual fathers in dual-career couples think that they are splitting household labor equally with their partner during the COVID-19 crisis, though only 44 percent of heterosexual mothers in dual-career couples agree.
And the home-care burden is spilling over to work. Nearly a quarter of mothers said they worried that their work performance was being judged negatively because of their caregiving responsibilities, compared with 11 percent of fathers.
“I have weeks when I feel burnt out. Before the pandemic, my parents helped with childcare, but now everything falls on me. I feel overwhelmed at least two or three days a week.”
— A manager with two children under the age of 4
For mothers of colour, their work has doubled - and then some.
Women of colour are more likely to be their family’s sole breadwinner or to have partners working outside the home during the pandemic, so leaving the workforce or downshifting may not be a realistic option.
Overall, the pandemic has affected working mothers of color disproportionately. They are 1.6 times more likely than white mothers to be responsible for all childcare and housework, with Black mothers specifically being twice as likely to be handling these duties for their families.
Companies should be doing more to help mothers stay in the workforce.
Companies that take action to help working mothers—including tailoring policies and programs and normalizing flexibility and leave for all employees—will create a better environment for mothers to stay in the workplace and thrive. For those women who must leave, policies that help them return when they are ready not only help women’s careers but also ensure that companies don’t lose all that talent and experience. The choices that companies make today will have consequences far beyond this difficult pandemic era, influencing gender equality in the workplace for decades to come.
The road ahead…
There are two paths ahead. If companies do truly recognize the scale of these problems and do all they can to address them, they can help their employees get through this difficult time and even reinvent the way they work so it’s more flexible and sustainable for everyone. If not, the consequences could badly hurt women, business, and the economy as a whole. This moment requires long-term thinking, creativity, strong leadership, and a laser focus on the value of women to their organizations.
Whatever it is, we’re here for you.
Life is uncertain. Jobs are stressful. Parenting is hard. Relationships take work. Families can be dysfunctional. And, sometimes love hurts. When you’re confronted by feelings, events, or issues that are making your life challenging, it’s okay to ask for some help.
