The Pandemic is Driving Women Out of Work

 

 

Pleased to share a wonderful article in The 19th News (a wonderful media platform focused on women and politics) about how this pandemic is overwhelming working mothers and forcing them to make really tough choices about balancing work and childcare (if they are fortunate to have choices). Our co-founder Jenny was quoted as a representative of the women in our member community:

“Jenny Galluzzo, co-founder of the Second Shift, a platform that matches professional women with freelance and consulting projects, said the site has seen four times as many applicants since February as women try to make up lost work hours with part-time consulting work.

Beyond that, most women tell her they’re just waiting.

“You can’t plan ahead in any concrete way. And that stress manifests itself because you don’t know how to interact with the workforce. If you’re out looking for a job, how can you know what job to take because you don’t know in two months what your kids’ school situation will be?” Galluzzo said. “I worry for women because we’re taking an undue burden of all of the care and the invisible labor. I worry about all the strides we’ve made just being set back.”

 

One of our members, Mara Geronemus, a working mother of  3 young children and wife of a front-line doctor, is also featured because  the weight of her work and responsibilities forced her to turn down clients and take a step back right when her practice was taking off. It’s a relatable story and one that really captures the anxiety, stress, helplessness and disappointment many of us feel right now.

On the positive side, Jenny sees a silver lining if we can just hold our breath and make it to the other side…

“In many ways, though, coronavirus has served as a magnifying glass, bringing into sharper focus issues like child care that have long been ignored — and employers are responding. Companies that once resisted flexible work set-ups, and particularly remote work, are starting to embrace the idea. 

“We have been fighting for the ability for women to work remotely and flexibly for years. It’s the number one thing women want for employment and companies have now been forced to see that that model works,” said Galluzzo, from the Second Shift. “And when the economy comes back and jobs are more plentiful and our kids are in school, I see this as ultimately a benefit because you don’t have to convince people any longer that [flexibility and being remote] works.”

#makeworkworkforyou

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We Made It!!

How cool is this?? The Second Shift is a case study for a University of Oregon Executive MBA program! Thank you Stephanie Gioia for highlighting our unique approach to growth. Proud to be in company with Google, Netflix, Bridgewater, the U.S Army and Amazon! Thank you to our members for being our “special sauce.”

Stephanie found us and reached out to learn more about our business model, mission and philosophy on the future of work. After we finished our conversation she signed up as a member. To us, that means everything! This community of women is strong together; We fundamentally understand the need for this platform and are invested in each other’s success– we are grateful to you all for making this a business worthy of a case study.

#makeworkworkforyou

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The New Workplace Model

 

Here’s to hoping the remote workforce is the “new normal.”

Great article on the benefits of embracing remote work when quarantine ends:

 

1. Less time commuting is better for your stress and benefits the environment.

2. Increases productivity of workers!

3. Cleaner and controllable environment for workers.

4. Saves money on transportation, child care and office space.

5. Employees are more satisfied when they have flexibility to work from home.

6. Less sick leave is a cost and time saver.

7. Mental and physical wellness of workers is improved with time to spend on mindful activities.

 

The Second Shift is uniquely positioned to help businesses trying to figure out how to maximize remote work and successfully set up for the new work place model– find us at info@thesecondshift.com

#workfromhome #makeworkworkforyou #remotework #talentinnovation

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#She4All and The Second Shift

We are a finalist in the #She4All competition hosted by Luminary and Berlin Cameron for a women-led companies building authentic communities.

On April 29th from 5-6pm EST we will be virtually pitching The Second Shift to the judges and our members are invited to join and cheer us on!!!

The invite to register is below and we hope you will come lend your support. The prize includes valuable marketing and pr expertise to better help us #makeworkworkforyou!

https://lnkd.in/dzVf3hi

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How to Support Working Parents

 

Jenny Galluzzo joined Mita Mallick, head of Diversity and Inclusion at Unilever, for a webinar with Mathison, a job marketplace for diverse talent, as part of their inclusive leadership series about supporting working parents during Covid-19 and in the future.

 

You can watch the full video here.

 

The main takeaways are:

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LinkedIn Tips and Tricks!

 

Our resident LinkedIn guru and Second Shift member Katie Fogarty led a boot camp for a select group of NYC members but lucky for everyone else she is willing to give her tips and tricks to maximize success on LinkedIn!

 

  •  Posting Monday through Friday from 9-10am will win you the most eyeballs.
  • It’s also the best time to send a LinkedIn InMail — and have it be read.
  • Studies show that more LinkedIn members are active on a Tuesday than any other day of the week.

 

Here are three resources that offer guidance and inspiration for crafting powerful LinkedIn Summaries. Each of these resources shares examples.

 

For more tips on leveraging LinkedIn, job hunting and telling a powerful professional story, you can follow Katie on LinkedIn here.

 

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The Secret Lives of Working Parents

A note from Jenny:

 

The idea of normalizing the conversation about parenting in the workplace is very important.  A recent personal story written in The Atlantic highlights the importance of candor about the realities of family in the workplace and the lengths people go, ineffectually, to hide one side from the other:

“Why would people do this? Why pretend kids are of “little importance”? When work and parenting seem at odds—because our culture tells us they’re at odds—mothers and fathers feel forced to demonstrate their commitment to one (the work side) by minimizing their concern for the other (the parenting side). They do not want their bosses to think they are anything other than 100 percent committed. “

Employees cannot feel afraid of what might make someone else uncomfortable– aren’t they told by leadership to “bring your whole-self to work?” I am the boss and just this morning I was fearful about revealing a personal detail at work– I realized too late that I booked a meeting with a (female) investor too close to my son’s birthday party. I thought about pretending it was a different conflict but then decided to bring my “whole-self” to the conversation. I owned up to the mistake and the reason why I had to reschedule–it felt scary but freeing to choose to make be bold and vulnerable. Ultimately, if the investor didn’t get it then I don’t want to do business with them.

At The Second Shift, we try to create a world where we don’t compartmentalize life and work. I don’t want my employees to waste time and energy trying to figure out how to make it to ballet or to a doctor appointment with an ill parent. Better they just do their job efficiently and are responsible– I do this myself and need to trust them to be grown ups and do the same.

“Put simply, mothers and fathers ought to come clean about the nature of their lives. We can’t fix problems that we pretend don’t exist; we can’t improve the lot of parents at work if we pretend we aren’t parents.”

 

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Sallie Says: Just Buy the Latte!

Sallie Krawcheck busting myths about women and money in an article on the ways women are spoken down to when it comes to money and equity. Her message– buy the latte! Don’t let society tell you to save the latte cash and you will be rich or you have to choose if you are a Carrie (buys shoes) or a Miranda (saves money). This is a distraction from focusing on the systemic issues that keep women from gender equity.

 

“….as infuriating as it is to be patronized, that’s not the biggest issue. All this nonsense about lattes and shoes is shifting the attention–and thus the blame–for the underlying systemic money challenges women face, to the women themselves. The pink tax, the wage gap, the debt gap, the funding gap, the domestic work (and emotional labor) gap, and–my personal crusade–the investing gap.”

 

Sallie and her company Ellevest are taking power back into the hands of women with skills building, investment advice and financial tools to level the playing field.  Because, she says, “As Gloria Steinem has said,– We will not solve the feminization of power until we solve the masculinity of wealth. So, ladies, buy the f***ing latte, because I’m going to need you caffeinated when we do this thing.”

 

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Flexibility Study Results Are In and It’s Good News For Women!

A new global talent trends study was released by LinkedIn and the among the biggest trends in the workforce is the move toward more flexibility. This is great news for The Second Shift and women! When we launched in 2015 flexibility was seen as something too disruptive and too progressive for many organizations to consider. Today things are rapidly changing as the need to attract and retain talent is a strategic initiative for hiring managers and studies the myriad benefits of a flexible work environment including:

  • increased gender diversity
  • increased talent retention
  • increased innovation
  • increased productivity

“According to research by Werk, a people analytics software startup that helps companies improve their flexibility performance, the most in-demand types of flexibility are the ability to work remotely at times while keeping an assigned desk, the autonomy to step away for a few hours for personal reasons, and the freedom to shift hours (e.g., to avoid rush-hour traffic). “

 

So what’s a business to do if they want to become more flexible and are afraid of disrupting the status quo?

  • HR needs to partner with other depts to ensure the right work environment and collaboration/ productivity tools are in place.
  • Set defined policies, make sure employees know their options and set clear parameters.
  • Train leaders to manage a remote workforce.
  • Be adaptable to the needs of employees and re-evaluate your policies to ensure they are meeting your employees needs over time.

The Second Shift has thousands of women looking for just these types of work arrangements and we are happy to fill your open roles and provide a roadmap to hire and back-up your flexible employees!

 

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Where We’re At—Women in 2019

Due to a scheduling conflict, and much much to her chagrin, I got to take Gina’s place at the Maker’s conference this year and it was a revelation. Beyond the moving stories and empowering interviews, the networking with amazing women, and even the concert with John Legend, what has stayed with me was the opening presentation on the first full day- Makers on the Front Line: Talent Rising. This update on the status of women in the workplace by McKinsey legend Joanna Barsh laid out the systemic issues confronting women and businesses and what to do about it. The problem really comes down to this– there is no solution, there is no quick fix and nobody has the answers. That sounds super depressing and the solutions presented seemed vague and difficult to enact. But, instead of seeing this as a negative, I prefer to make it into a positive ie: companies have to learn how to be agile, to try out new policies and admit when they don’t work. I am sure HR and executive leadership wish there was a magic solution but gender inequity is a deeply entrenched problem and companies need to remain focused, bring in outside resources (like The Second Shift) and be transparent about their goals and their failures Below is a summarized list of the findings from McKinsey and Makers.

1. Leaders must vocally make diversity and inclusion the top priority for cultural change. 

2. Leaders must: set improvement goals, use incentive compensation to reinforce accountability, adopt radical transparency, enlist peer pressure to keep their teams to focus on their goals, use positive reinforcement and call out bad behavior, share progress publicly.

3. Diversity top leadership with critical mass: aim to fill 33 % of top seats with diverse talent. restructure leadership roles and top teams, give diverse talent first shot at open seats.

4. Mobile thought leaders: spotlight influencers who exhibit the type of behavior and mindset you want from employees. Offer training and coaching for mid-level talent, integrate diversity and inclusion at every level.

5. Re-imagine talent management: mandate 50% diverse slates of candidates for every job. Provide mentorship and coaching to shepherd talent through their careers and advocate on their behalf. Challenge bias in hiring and promotions. De-bias performance management.

6. Make the work-place “sticky” for women: staff teams with more than one woman to combat the “only” syndrome. Provide benefits that remove work-life friction. Bend or break rules to address a temporary employee challenge. Destigmatize nontraditional paths and careers.

7. Shore up resilience: stay focused on goals and be open with your challenges, successes, and failures. Take a test, learn, adapt approach. Change hr and diversity leaders when a refresh is needed.

Look, we all know there is an issue and it seems like there is a real desire to fix things but when a problem is so large it can seem overwhelming. We tell companies that we work with that working with The Second Shift is a small step toward a larger goal. Maternity fill-ins, part-time work, flexible full-time job opportunities– these are all micro steps but they have the ability to change culture and preconceived notions and biases. Enough small steps can make big leaps happen!
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