A report by Dr Stephen R. Burrell of Durham University discusses how the North East business sector is addressing gender equality issues in the workplace in the wake of Covid-19.
There are growing concerns that gender equality in the workplace may be moving backwards as a result of the pandemic. In order to investigate the issue in the North East, Dr Stephen R. Burrell’s 2021 report provided the results of a small-scale but in-depth survey conducted between November 2020 and February 2021. The 72 participants were 78% women and 22% men, and came from a variety of North East business backgrounds.
While some respondents felt that greater flexibility from employers and more attention towards employee wellbeing have led to some positive impacts on gender equality, there remained some alarming findings. Respondents believed that, where there were differences in experience in relation to how men and women had been affected by the pandemic in their organisation, women had been more adversely affected for every single issue. This was particularly regarding responsibilities outside of work, such as childcare or home-schooling. Due to the fact that increased caring responsibilities had, in respondents’ experiences, generally fallen on women, this had made it more difficult to do their jobs and, therefore, put them under considerable pressure and stress. Some women stated that they had to stop working or reduce their hours, which supports research across the UK that mothers have been more likely to lose their jobs than fathers, and women have been more likely to be furloughed than men.
Despite this, over half of respondents were unsure whether their organisation had taken any steps to address gender inequalities during the pandemic, which Dr Burrell considers concerning. He states that there needs to be more education and dialogue about gender equality in the workplace as there is currently a degree of complacency, saying “there is always more work that can be done to promote inclusion, equity, and the health and wellbeing of staff”.
If you are wondering how best to address and provide support for gender equality within your business, the results of the report suggest that you should try implementing an awareness-raising campaign, training, and mentoring. Most important, however, is to have gender equality being championed by leadership, as this was a recurring theme in the responses. Businesses have the power to improve their communities for the better, so make sure that you are doing what you can to ensure inclusivity for all.
Read Dr Stephen R. Burrell’s full report here.
Freya Thompson
Knowledge and Research Executive
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