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Are women slipping back into the traditional gender roles; that being home full time means we are becoming s tay -a t -home -mums regardless of our work responsibilities?

Just a few weeks ago a typical weekend for many would include dinner with friends, a Saturday birthday party or playdate, maybe even brunch and a movie. No one worried about toilet paper or facemasks and the US election or post Brexit discussions would rage on. Today, it’s like we’ve gone back in time.

Family life in the era of social distancing and quarantine seems more like the 1950s. Amid fear of food shortages, people are starting to plant backyard vegetable plots again, so much so that seeds are running scarce in some communities, Facebook is rife with proud new chefs showing off their sourdough bread and flour is now in high demand. Meals are once again all home-cooked, and in the absence of babysitters and cleaners, all of the household chores have to be self-managed. On top of that, 1.5 billion students around the world are now being home schooled. Through this, people all over the world are adapting, when we don’t have access to care givers, we must become them.

IN A SHIFTING GLOBAL PARADIGM, FEMALE LEADERS HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHAPE THE FUTURE...

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Helen Tudor from Sheffield Haworth asked Sam Wallace from UPWARD to explore how recent events may mark a turning point for female leadership

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But does this mean that women are slipping back into the traditional gender roles as well, that now being home full time means we are becoming stay-at-home mums and housewives, regardless of our work responsibilities?

When the just-in-time” world that we live in seems to be changing, we must change too. We now manage our homes and our workplaces as inseparable, connected worlds. Helen Lewis of the Atlantic argued in her March article, The Coronavirus Is a Disaster for Feminism, that “Despite the mass entry of women into the workforce during the 20th century, the phenomenon of the “second shift” still exists. Across the world, women—including those with jobs—do more housework and have less leisure time than their male partners.” “Unpaid caring labor” essential in this time of crisis “will fall more heavily on women”. Now that our home life and our careers have become intertwined, families are having to make hard decisions about who does what when. History has dictated that the answer is inevitably the woman of the household.

It’s a conundrum. In one moment, we’re thrown into the future of work with technology connecting and saving the world. In the next and somehow at the same time, we may be forced into the past with social and gender stereo types of the 1950s emerging as a new normal. It’s a world we could never have expected but in many ways, it is one that has been researched for years. The Future of Work had been anticipated, the advancement of executive women, or lack thereof had been justified and analyzed. Connecting the threads of this research will point to how we can lead though this period of uncertainty and thrive as we build the new future.

In 2018, Kevin Baker, author of “America the Ingenious: How a Nation of Dreamers, Immigrants and Tinkers Changed the World” suggested in Politico (The Future of Work - A History) that the anxiety about the Future of Work was in fact an age-old reaction to change, stemming as far back as the 1920s. He argued that since then, as innovation has increased so too has the fear. Skills developed through education are being rendered useless as the skills ladder becomes a pyramid with very little room at the top. (Martin Ford: Rise of Robots). Furthermore, in this age of automation, forty-seven percent of jobs will become obsolete or automated. (Andres Oppenheimer:2019 book, “The Robots are Coming”). Social and economic inequality will prevail with devastating, irreparable consequences.

It’s a conundrum. In one moment, we’re thrown into the future of work with technology connecting and saving the world. In the next and somehow at the same time, we’re forced into the past with social and gender stereo types of the 1950s emerging as our new normal.

“Kevin Baker, Author

Women do more housework and have less leisure time than their male partners.

IN A SHIFTING GLOBAL PARADIGM, FEMALE LEADERS HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHAPE THE FUTURE...

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The predictions for the new decade focused on AI, digital workforces and technological integration allowing flexibility, choice and balance.

As we entered 2020 however, there was less doomsday forecasting about the Future of Work. The predictions for the new decade focused on AI, digital workforces and technological integration allowing flexibility, choice and balance. The workplace transformation was seen as an opportunity. Importantly, this transformation was still expected to be gradual and within our control. Despite the fact that technology has changed more in the last five years than in the last 50, the shift away from a traditional workplace - white or blue collar – has continued to evolve far more slowly.

Fast forward to today, and our conundrum. As globally renowned strategist and speaker Heather McGowen suggested in her Forbes article of March 23rd, the Coronavirus is accelerating the Future of Work. The steady pace of transformation has all of a sudden been kicked into hyper-speed. McGowen has long argued that VUCA, an acronym describing a state of volatility, uncertainly, complexity and ambiguity underpins our progress towards the Future of Work. In the last few weeks, we have seen mandatory social distancing, with some states requiring anyone who goes outside to wear a protective facemask, creating an entirely new commercial, financial and social infrastructure. Volatility. Uncertainty. Complexity. Ambiguity. The world has now been induced into an economic coma, over 13% of the workforce in the USA have lost their jobs, and as we prepare to recover companies are taking the opportunity to make a complete redesign of their workforce. We expected this, just not at its current velocity.

So where are we going?

In June 2019, HBR published a research paper “Women Score Higher Than Men in Most Leadership Skills”. 19 capabilities that differentiate excellent leaders were identified. Women outscored men on 17 of the 19, including resilience, building relationships, communicating powerfully and prolifically, inspiring and motivating, being bold and taking the initiative. Men were seen to outscore women in strategic perspectives and technical or professional expertise. One could argue that in this new era of social distancing, strength in relationship building, communication and inspiration are starting to carry more weight than technical expertise. Does this new world we have entered need strong female leadership?

In this age of automation, forty-seven percent of jobs will become obsolete or automated.

Andres Oppenheimer:“The Robots are Coming” (2019)“

IN A SHIFTING GLOBAL PARADIGM, FEMALE LEADERS HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHAPE THE FUTURE...

The Coronavirus is accelerating the Future of Work

87% of schools are closed and families are having to adapt to full time home care, schooling, work and isolation.

Business meetings and company updates are now mostly done via video conferencing

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Companies have finally been forced to take a leap towards the much-anticipated future of working digitally, but under the heavy cloud of the coronavirus pandemic. Business meetings and company updates are now mostly done via video conferencing but what is often not communicated in these online interactions are the waves of fear and questions about the future. Will there be enough food? How will my children’s mental health be impacted? What will happen to my job? When navigating the new normal of zoom meetings and emailed productivity updates, if one is driven solely by strategic perspectives, data analytics and results-based success, one can miss what doesn’t get mentioned in a digital conference room. The risk is that the fears comes crashing down while the camera is off, debilitating individuals and destroying potential. Managers now need the communication skills and empathy to calm their colleagues and increasingly need to read between the lines to see what might be missed in an email or video chat.

We have to acknowledge that historically, times of crisis are viewed as gender neutral, and there is limited data to help us anticipate the long-term impact on gender and social imbalance. (Helen Lewis, The Atlantic). We know it has taken years for inclusion and diversity to have a seat at the executive table and despite attention and effort the world average of female top executives is 8% (Wikipedia).

Layer into this the gender stereotypes we mentioned. With 87% of schools closed, affecting over 1.5 billion students worldwide, families are having to adapt to full time home care, schooling, work and social isolation. We’re using our workplace technology to create virtual and connected schools and families. Zoom play dates are as important and often harder to schedule than corporate strategy meetings and our leaders have become teachers, care givers, gardeners and bakers. The “second shift” for women is increasingly a full- time job, equally as important as our careers. This time of adversity however, also holds the potential for great change. For the first time in history, partners are at home together, the burdens of housework and child-raising don’t have to fall on the women’s shoulders alone. We now have the opportunity to share the load equally and anecdotal evidence suggests this may well be happening.

IN A SHIFTING GLOBAL PARADIGM, FEMALE LEADERS HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHAPE THE FUTURE...

We have a responsibility to ensure that this moment drives us forward rather than letting us slip past.“

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This new normal requires broad communication skills, deep relationships with both team, clients and communities and an ability to inspire people remotely. This is now being seen on the national level, evidence is showing that countries such as New Zealand, Germany, Iceland and Taiwan with strong female leaders are weathering the Coronavirus storm more effectively than those with male-dominated governments.

This is an inflection point. We have an opportunity to be empowered as female leaders, to design the future in the age of rapidly advancing technology and unprecedented social and economic circumstances. This new normal could become the great equalizer with female leaders emerging as the natural fit in this new paradigm. If you can read the room, even when it’s a digital room, you can lead into the future.

IN A SHIFTING GLOBAL PARADIGM, FEMALE LEADERS HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHAPE THE FUTURE...

S O U R C E S

H T T P S : / / H B R . O R G / 2 0 1 9 / 0 6 / R E S E A R C H - W O M E N - S C O R E - H I G H E R - T H A N - M E N - I N -M O S T - L E A D E R S H I P - S K I L L S

H T T P S : / / W W W . B R O O K I N G S . E D U / R E S E A R C H / C O V I D - 1 9 - A N D - S C H O O L - C L O S U R E S -W H AT - C A N - C O U N T R I E S - L E A R N - F R O M - PA S T - E M E R G E N C I E S /

H T T P S : / / W W W . T H E A T L A N T I C . C O M / I N T E R N A T I O N A L / A R C H I V E / 2 0 2 0 / 0 3 / F E M I -N I S M - W O M E N S - R I G H T S - C O R O N AV I R U S - C O V I D 1 9 / 6 0 8 3 0 2 /

We are at an inflection point. We have an opportunity to be empowered as female leaders, to design the future in the age of rapidly advancing technology. “

Cont act Us

Helen TudorManaging Director, Sheffield HaworthE. h.tudor@sheffieldhaworth.comW.www.sheffieldhaworth.com