Since March of last year—and nearly the very start of mask-wearing and stay-at-home orders—we’ve seen stories about the ways that women have paid a heavy toll throughout the pandemic. Many women work in the industries hardest hit by COVID-19, which include education, retail, and hospitality. In many of these jobs, employees do not have benefits like sick time or parental leave, and they may not be able to work from home. In those cases, many women have either been forced out of their jobs as businesses closed or downsized severely, or they have exited the workforce after making difficult choices about how to balance work and care responsibilities.
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Last year, my partner and I went on the job market. What I learned forever changed my outlook on gender gaps in academia and the inherent sexism pervasive in our culture. Although we are both happy and have since landed jobs in our field, the process was more painful than it should have been, as sexist behavior on the part of prospective employers led to undue stress.
Read MoreMentorship of the next generation of leaders is essential and yet women are often left out of these structures, often because of a belief that younger women will not be able to lead, will struggle with conflict, or will be perceived as weaker because of their age and experience.
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