First female recession – How the pandemic impacted women in tech

by StrathclydeWIT Society · February 26, 2022

Women in tech are burned out and large companies have still got a lot to learn to create a progressive workplace. Image by Christina @ wocintechchat.com (CC BY 2.0)

Covid-19 has taken a strain on IT professionals; however, the burden of adjusting to life and work under the global pandemic have disproportionately affected women forcing them out of the workplace leading to career progress delays.

Slowly, large tech companies have been making steady progress to diversify their teams and better represent the female workforce all the while women have started gaining great professional momentum.^[1] Then the pandemic happened.

Unfortunately, with the pandemic, the first female recession came, setting back all the progress made. The industry is already lacking gender diversity and inclusion and the future of women in technology has become even more insecure.

Research conducted by TrustRadius surveyed over 450 tech professionals (66% who identified as women) found that women are twice as likely to have lost their jobs or have been furloughed due to the pandemic. Much of this boils down to the fact that women are more impacted by juggling responsibilities at work and home.

57% of women reported that they feel more burned out compared to just 36% of men. The inequalities are also shown by a greater burden of childcare responsibilities that predominantly rest on working mothers.^[2]

Now more than ever, the tech sector needs to step up its game on the gender front. Some great trends came out of the pandemic such as remote working and flexible hours but attracting and retaining women should be a top priority as well.

If companies develop policies that help women advance in their careers all the while considering caregiving and well-being at work, the negative effects of the pandemic can be significantly reversed.^[3]

With the right actions taken towards a progressive and diverse workplace companies could very well come out stronger than before.

Edited by Liam Butler
Copy-edited by Claire Thomson

^[1] https://www.trustradius.com/buyer-blog/women-in-tech-report

^[2] https://www.womentechcouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/WTC_Female_Recession_Report.pdf

^[3] https://www.forbes.com/sites/deloitte/2022/01/05/women-in-tech-the-key-to-success-post-pandemic/?sh=491cad9a30d2