The Pandemic Effect: Women Want Good Pay, Health Coverage, and Better Benefits as They Re-Enter Workforce

 Good pay and health insurance are the top two desired benefits for women re-entering the workforce. When considering future jobs, a majority of women report a living wage (87.8 percent) and health insurance (86.0 percent) to be “very important” or “important” benefits, followed by retirement benefits (84.7 percent) and job security (80.7 percent). Paid vacation (79.4 percent), paid sick time (77.3 percent), and paid family leave (76.6 percent) are also “very important” or “important” considerations.

Women also want flexibility as they consider future jobs. Over six in ten women (61.4 percent) surveyed consider control of their schedules to be “very important” or “important.” 

Despite more than a year of the pandemic, paid sick and family leave remains an elusive benefit for many working women. Over one-third of women (37.5 percent) employed full-time report they do not have paid sick leave—and 65.2 percent of full-time workers surveyed report they do not have paid family leave. 

Close to 70 percent of women report they do not have job security. Of women surveyed, just 31.6 percent felt that their current job offered security.