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| © mentatdgt/Shutterstock Gender can inform your experience at work. mentatdgt/Shutterstock |
- Business Insider is starting a newsletter to explore the link between gender and success.
- It's a topic that's on many people's minds lately. For example, in the current crisis situation, some women have taken on a disproportionate amount of household responsibilities, in addition to holding down full-time, paying jobs.
- Gender at Work will take a broad look at how your gender identity informs your career experiences.
- Prime subscribers will get exclusive access to all of Business Insider's Gender at Work coverage.
The coronavirus pandemic and the era of social distancing aren't affecting everyone the same way.
In many households, women are shouldering a disproportionate amount of work — and potentially falling behind in their careers.
As Business Insider's Marguerite Ward reported, these women are looking after kids while childcare centers are closed, keeping the home in order, and still holding down full-time, paying jobs.
There isn't one, clear reason for the gender imbalance here. One potential explanation (though hardly a justification), which The Atlantic's Helen Lewis pointed out, is that women tend to earn less than men on average. So their paying jobs may seem like less of a priority.
Crisis situations like the one we're in now can also expose our underlying assumptions about our relationships, namely the belief that women should handle family responsibilities and men should provide financial support. Even couples who don't typically live this way and wouldn't say explicitly that they hold these beliefs, may revert to traditional gender roles in times of extreme stress and uncertainty. Maybe that's what they saw growing up, or just what seems easiest right now.
And finally, our gender biases may be reinforced by employers who look askance on men who take time off from work to care for their family.
As individuals and families reexamine their own gender identities and the implications for their professional ambitions, Business Insider is creating a resource to help guide that introspection.
You can expect stories of high-achieving executives from underrepresented communities, new research on what it takes to narrow the gender pay gap, and advice on getting your startup funded when you don't look like every other founder.
See more at: Business Insider
In many households, women are shouldering a disproportionate amount of work — and potentially falling behind in their careers.
As Business Insider's Marguerite Ward reported, these women are looking after kids while childcare centers are closed, keeping the home in order, and still holding down full-time, paying jobs.
There isn't one, clear reason for the gender imbalance here. One potential explanation (though hardly a justification), which The Atlantic's Helen Lewis pointed out, is that women tend to earn less than men on average. So their paying jobs may seem like less of a priority.
Crisis situations like the one we're in now can also expose our underlying assumptions about our relationships, namely the belief that women should handle family responsibilities and men should provide financial support. Even couples who don't typically live this way and wouldn't say explicitly that they hold these beliefs, may revert to traditional gender roles in times of extreme stress and uncertainty. Maybe that's what they saw growing up, or just what seems easiest right now.
And finally, our gender biases may be reinforced by employers who look askance on men who take time off from work to care for their family.
As individuals and families reexamine their own gender identities and the implications for their professional ambitions, Business Insider is creating a resource to help guide that introspection.
Introducing Gender at Work.
In this biweekly newsletter, we'll take a broad look at how your gender identity informs your career. We'll go beyond gender dynamics for those who are cisgender, addressing the experiences of nonbinary and transgender individuals as well.You can expect stories of high-achieving executives from underrepresented communities, new research on what it takes to narrow the gender pay gap, and advice on getting your startup funded when you don't look like every other founder.
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