On Thursday, October 14, Washingtonian brought together experts to discuss the future of working women. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many women lost their jobs or were forced to leave their careers to care for not only children, but also their loved ones. The conversation explored how organizations can institute policies that support the needs of working women as society adapts to the new normal.
Cigna’s Mid-Atlantic Market President Monica Schmude kicked off the conversation with a question about the true impact of COVID-19 on women’s employment. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research’s President C. Nicole Mason spoke about how the pandemic impacted the number of women in the workforce. “In January 2020 we were celebrating a significant milestone for women. Women at the time made up more than 50% of the workforce and we were celebrating that because we hadn’t seen that particular milestone in about a decade. By March, all of those gains had been wiped out because of the pandemic. Women lost 4 times as many jobs as men.”
