Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll across the globe – taking the lives of millions and disrupting normalcy across every facet of life. Along with nearly everything else, the pandemic has gravely impacted the labor force and job market. Even for those who have been fortunate enough to remain employed during this difficult year, things are certainly not “business as usual.” In particular, many sources have cited and discussed the disproportionate impact COVID-19 has had on women in the workforce, so much so that some have cautioned that the pandemic could set women’s professional workforce progress back decades. Carlisle & Co embarked upon a diversity benchmarking effort to understand and quantify the work experiences of our individual clients, and through these surveys, we identified several concerning statistics that highlight these issues, including:
- 31% of women participants considered leaving the workforce due to COVID-19, while only 16% of men respondents considered it
- 68% of women respondents with children say they have taken on more childcare responsibility due to the pandemic, while only 34% of men respondents with children say they have
Both working mothers and working women without children are affected by the challenges brought about by the pandemic. The line between working and non-working hours is blurred and the ability to strike a comfortable work-life balance is diminished. In this first edition of “Conversations with Carlisle,” we will be focusing on this topic from the perspective of our very own women in leadership. Women Directors from across our practice areas discuss their personal experiences working during the pandemic, highlighting the challenges they have and continue to face, as well as some bright spots in this otherwise difficult time and their perspectives on the future.
Meet Carlisle & Co’s Leading Women
Amy Marzonie | Director
Amy leads Carlisle & Co’s Operations Excellence consulting portfolio
Eliza Johnson | Director
Eliza leads Carlisle & Co’s North American Service Benchmark activities
Meredith Collins | Director
Meredith leads Carlisle & Co’s North American and European Parts Benchmark activities
Jessica Shea | Director
Jessica leads Carlisle & Co’s Event Planning & Meeting activities
Q: What has changed for you while working during the pandemic?
Having to change your routine and share your usual “dedicated” workspaces with family, partners, and friends
Eliza Johnson | Director
I already worked remotely before this, so in theory not much for me personally, but with everything changing AROUND me, it makes things very different – gone is my dedicated workspace due to my husband being home working too, kids home, and all of my coworkers are now remote also, meaning the usual coordination of meetings and discussions is a whole new ballgame.
Meredith Collins | Director
The biggest change was that I normally traveled 1-2 times a month, and also my partner used to go into the office every day. So I mostly have to get used to being home ALL the time and sharing the small space with another person also working (dealing with multiple calls at the same time, trying to get complete silence during the conference!, etc.).
Amy Marzonie | Director
When I’m not traveling, I work out of my home office – usually no more than one week per month. My last scheduled on-site client visit was late February 2020, and I did not set foot on a plane or sleep in a hotel until a brief domestic trip in December 2020. I never imagined I would see the four walls of my home office every day for nearly a year! In March 2020, my twin daughters attended kindergarten for the last time in person for the school year. My husband, who also began working from home, and I had to facilitate school Zoom meetings for their two classrooms, as well as provide academic instruction through the end of May.
Jessica Shea | Director
What hasn’t changed? My commute is now 20 steps to my home office, I plan only virtual events instead of in-person, and I often lose track of what day it is. After almost 15 years of being in the office every day, I was so used to just walking into someone’s office to get a quick answer or to chat about a new idea. Being remote, those types of interactions are not as easy or organic.
Q: What are the key challenges of working during the pandemic for you?
Knowing when to shut down and focus on other things outside of work – balancing work and personal lives is especially difficult
Jessica Shea | Director
Work / Life Balance has become tougher for me. Now that I don’t commute, I tend to start working earlier and with my office in the next room, I stay online later. When you are always in the same spot it becomes more difficult to break away. As a planner, I like routine. With this new reality it took a while to create a new routine that would work for me.
Amy Marzonie | Director
It is important that school instruction is never an afterthought, so every Sunday my husband and I sit down with our work calendars and each block time to support our girls in completing their virtual academic requirements, while ensuring we don’t miss important work meetings. Of course, this also means adding earlier mornings and later nights to our own work schedules to ensure that our professional priorities are met. As such, work hours have quickly become “all” hours … the work has to get done and flexibility has become key to “doing it all,” but it can be challenging to define when to shut the laptop down and turn the phone off for the day.
Eliza Johnson | Director
It is beyond challenging to have a preschooler home all day – there simply isn’t any way to work with a 3 year old around. And then bringing an infant into the world and juggling a newborn baby and a toddler all while returning to work after leave and trying to really get up to speed in the work world – that was near impossible. All of these challenges are mine, but everyone has their own set.
Q: What are some silver linings to working from home during the pandemic?
Connecting to people on deeper levels and building stronger relationships
Meredith Collins | Director
I’ve really appreciated the shift in companies being more relaxed and flexible with people’s schedules. It feels like the corporate mindset has sort of shifted in being more lax with when precisely people are online, letting people take breaks throughout the day, etc. I’ve always been a big believer in this, so I am glad that the world is generally moving in that direction.
Amy Marzonie | Director
Professionally, years of strong relationships with clients paid off. In a climate where budgets were reduced / cut, clients were willing to work with us to find creative ways to meet their needs. The investment in those relationships, founded on a culture of professional excellence, quality of work, and client delight, was the key to success, and even facilitated stronger relationships coming out of the pandemic.
Eliza Johnson | Director
Coworkers and clients alike are all more understanding of one another and life’s interruptions. I have spent more time with my family and kids than I ever thought I could / would as a working mom. Going forward, there will hopefully be a whole new appreciation for working parents.
Q: What have you learned about yourself while working during the pandemic?
Realizing how capable and resilient we all are – looking back, you can see how far we have come
Amy Marzonie | Director
With proper planning and intentional balance, “doing it all” is possible. Certainly the days get long and some are more exhausting than others, but calendaring both work and personal commitments helps me to attack everything one day at a time. The right emotional state is critical too. This means balancing the demands of remote work and virtual learning with mental escapes like getting outdoors with the family, baking cupcakes with the girls, and intentionally scheduling time for myself to exercise. While it takes a robust support system (both professional and personal), it is a mindset. For those willing to put in the work and find a way, it is resoundingly possible.
Jessica Shea | Director
When we started work from home last March, I thought it would be a few weeks tops and never thought a year later I’d still be home. Looking back now, I’m amazed at what our team still accomplished. The format may have changed to digital conferences and events, but we still hosted everything we had originally scheduled. Looking at what other companies and industries canceled over that time really makes me proud of how we were able to transition.
Q: Many articles have been written about the disproportionate impact COVID-19 has had on women, what are your thoughts on this? What can be done?
Recognizing that this is not just a women’s issue but rather an issue that requires strong, active allyship
Amy Marzonie | Director
The fact that many women are leaving the workforce as a result of the pandemic is especially disappointing, as is the statistic that we’ve lost nearly a decade of progress as women in the workforce. As normalcy continues to resume, it will be very important for organizations to continue offering the avenues of flexibility (i.e., remote work, flexible hours, etc.) that we have seen over the last year, to regain gender equality advancements at a much faster pace than they’ve been lost, and ideally make it possible for women who have left the workforce to return.
Eliza Johnson | Director
It’s devastating what an impact this has had on women – it makes me really sad to think of all of the women who had to quit or leave their jobs (or were laid off) due to having no options for childcare. There’s just no way around the fact that this has and will set women back years. The best things that can be done now are for men in the workplace to consider how they can provide women with alternate work structures / schedules and support for childcare costs and solutions. More importantly, the men in women’s lives need to step up and consider these issues their burdens too – women shouldn’t be left figuring out how to deal with everything and how to pick up the pieces.
Meredith Collins | Director
I think it’s absolutely depressing and is just another example of how much work is still to be done in changing society’s expectations of gender roles. I am not sure what there is to do about it other than have the conversation and point out how unfair this is and push for people to change their perceptions of traditional gender roles. I think it’s easy for people to think of men and women as being equal (or at least more equal) today. They can ignore the obvious ways in which we aren’t equal until something like this happens that clearly demonstrates an imbalance. I think we need individuals, society as a whole, and corporations to adopt mindsets / behaviors / policies that support both men and women in and out of the workplace so that there isn’t an unfair pressure placed on women to “do it all”.
Continuing the Conversation
Join us for our Women of NAPB Panel where we will discuss these topics in more detail from the perspective of our clients
During our upcoming NAPB Digital Conference in late April, we will be hosting a virtual panel discussion where our female clients will discuss their experiences working in an extremely male-dominated industry. Conversation this year will be supported by benchmark data at the company level and at the individual level. Topics of discussion will go beyond the scope of COVID-19, covering areas such as company programs and initiatives, career progression and support, and solving the problem of work-life-balance.