Breaking Glass: IM Women Group Aims to Progress Gender Equity Through Education Campaign

The pandemic has disproportionately affected women in the workplace. Activists nationwide are concerned for the progress that’s been made once statistics were released, showing that 2.4M women dropped out of the workforce within the first year of the pandemic totaling $800 billion of lost income. Additionally, 38% of women surveyed in the tech industry said they planned to leave their jobs in two years. Chair of IM Women, Heather Dooley, spoke to Nancy Novak on Breaking Glass on the surprising numbers, why it’s happening and how to reverse it.

“All of the progress that we’ve been making in building up the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and building gender parity into our workforce seems to be moving backwards instead of forwards,”Dooley said.

One key element of understanding this phenomenon is looking at the data, which showed women desiring more than just a pay check, including:

1. Better benefits
2. Career growth opportunities
3. Leadership equality
4. Compensation
5. Workload issues—both at work and home

“This is not just a hiccup but a major hurdle that we’re having to get over,” Novak added.

While the statistics and data are discouraging, Dooley sees this as an opportunity. An opportunity for women to invest in STEM degrees; companies to be more proactive in DEI; and employees and employers being more intentional during the interview process.IM Women Group looks at the intersection of gender parity and creates resources to raise awareness in all areas of disparity