The trend of women leaving the workforce mid-career to take on family obligations or other responsibilities is not new. However, the COVID-19 pandemic greatly exacerbated this exodus. In fact, nearly three million women left the U.S. workforce during the pandemic, as many have had to make tough choices between careers and families.
Although we might like to think most of these women will reenter the workforce post-pandemic, the reality of highly technical fields is that qualified women may be discouraged from returning due to the perception that their skills have become obsolete. Unless we address this issue head-on, the already stubborn gender gap in technical professions like IT will only continue to widen.
While it's true that some skills never go out of date (think writing or interpersonal skills), highly technical areas of expertise like data analytics and software application development are evolving at a lightning-fast pace. Even a year off the job can make for a daunting gap to address in an interview with a potential employer.
At the same time, now more than ever, companies are challenged with both attracting and retaining technical talent. Four million people quit their jobs in April 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Continue reading: https://www.ciodive.com/news/roz-ho-women-technical-workforce-training/605430/
Although we might like to think most of these women will reenter the workforce post-pandemic, the reality of highly technical fields is that qualified women may be discouraged from returning due to the perception that their skills have become obsolete. Unless we address this issue head-on, the already stubborn gender gap in technical professions like IT will only continue to widen.
While it's true that some skills never go out of date (think writing or interpersonal skills), highly technical areas of expertise like data analytics and software application development are evolving at a lightning-fast pace. Even a year off the job can make for a daunting gap to address in an interview with a potential employer.
At the same time, now more than ever, companies are challenged with both attracting and retaining technical talent. Four million people quit their jobs in April 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Continue reading: https://www.ciodive.com/news/roz-ho-women-technical-workforce-training/605430/
