Rachel Thomas, co-founder and CEO of LeanIn.org, is concerned about a study from her organization and McKinsey showing that one out of four women is in danger of either scaling back their professional ambitions or dropping out of the workforce altogether.
"We know that women are struggling to balance work with everything else going on during COVID-19," Thomas, who is sounding the alarm about the millions of women suffering burnout.
"And if they do we will roll back the progress we've seen in the representation of women," she said. "In a single year, we'll roll back years of progress."
Senior-level women, mothers, and Black women are most affected by the pressures of the pandemic, according to the Lean In CEO, and women in management positions are particularly struggling with feeling required to work harder than their peers and dealing with professional burnout.
"We know when there's more women in leadership, companies perform better, we know cultures are stronger. We also know that senior-level women are more likely to mentor, sponsor, and serve as allies for women of color," said Thomas. "Women who are earlier in the pipeline, earlier in their careers will not look up and see senior-level women, the women we've worked so hard to get there over the last decade."
Dropping some advice for the working moms, Thomas said to communicate openly with managers, make practical, specific asks for things that can help with the work-life balance, and recruit the work "posse" who might help raise visibility regarding accomplishments, especially as working from home tends to diminish one's ability to be noticed.
Thomas also addressed the bias against women with children, the "motherhood penalty," that colors the view of working mothers as somehow being less committed and less productive. She noted that businesses and organizations need to be empathetic in regards to the added difficulties moms face especially during the pandemic.
"It's not just the extra childcare. It's not just the extra housework. Mothers are afraid their performance is being judged negatively because of their caregiving responsibilities," she said. "They're twice as concerned about it as fathers."
While she highlighted some things to be optimistic about following the pandemic, such as remote work being made a permanent feature, a greater diversity of hires due to the proliferation of working from home, and more empathy as businesses improve worker well-being and employees have "more visibility" in each other's personal lives, Thomas did have a caveat for this sunny outlook. "If I had a panic button right now, I'd be hitting it when you think about the repercussions of losing so many women," she said.
With the ongoing concern that COVID is driving unprecedented levels of burnout, the Lean In CEO explained that companies need to adapt their expectations for issues such as goal-setting, performance reviews, and time management so that workers are not made to feel like they are on the clock at all times.
"It's not just women. Women are more impacted. It's all employees who are struggling to get through this," Thomas said.
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Spain's government has fined Airbnb 64 million euros or $75 million for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals. The consumer rights ministry announced the fine on Monday. The ministry stated that many listings lacked proper license numbers or included incorrect information. The move is part of Spain's ongoing efforts to regulate short-term rental companies amid a housing affordability crisis especially in popular urban areas. The ministry ordered Airbnb in May to remove around 65,000 listings for similar violations. The government's consumer rights minister emphasized the impact on families struggling with housing. Airbnb said it plans to challenge the fine in court.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
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A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
