“It’s Time for Men to Lean In and Help”

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Op-Ed: Too many women are leaving the workforce during the pandemic. It’s time for men to lean in and help.

Brad Johnson and David Smith, co-authors of the book Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women produced a powerful Op-Ed for the Los Angeles Times that is worth your time. (Actually, everything written by this duo is worth reading!)

More people need to be made aware of the how much women were actually impacted by the pandemic. 4x that of men. 4x.

“Men who thought the COVID-19 “she-cession” was misnamed should take a look at the recent figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. After disproportionately losing jobs during the early shutdown, women are now leaving the workforce at nearly four times the rate of men.”

Men need to play a key and active role as leaders to make sure that women gain and do not lose more ground professionally. They can do this at the workplace and at home.

“With so many women laid off, sidelined or stepping away to manage remote schooling or care for their families, men have to stand up as allies to ensure that gender equality in the workplace isn’t set back a generation.”

Women have lost ground due to the pandemic in terms of not only jobs but also equal pay for their work.

“The corrosive effect of this downturn is already evident. The wage gap is widening toward where it was nearly 20 years ago by some economists’ estimates. Men, meanwhile, are 2.3 times more likely than women to say that working from home during the pandemic has been positive for their careers.”

Read their Op-Ed here