The Impact of COVID-19 on Utah Women and Work: Career Advancement Challenges

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020–2021 has impacted every Utahn in significant ways. Yet, research has found that women have been even more negatively impacted than men. For example, nearly 3 million American women have left the labor force over the past year and not returned. In Utah, from 2019 to 2020, jobs held by women declined at more than twice the rate of men. In addition, many studies have found that, for American couples, there continue to be gender gaps in household responsibilities even if both individuals work full-time. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research reported that women, and particularly women of color, have had greater struggles with managing paid work, caregiving responsibilities, and other types of unpaid obligations. Finally, at least one study found that working remotely has benefited men’s careers while halting women’s advancement.

Understanding the career advancement challenges US women have faced this past year is important in terms of ensuring a more equitable recovery. Yet, we know that Utah women often face additional, unique struggles that are important to recognize and address. To better understand Utah women’s experiences, Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) researchers conducted an extensive, in-depth survey focusing on the impacts of COVID-19 on women and work. The survey was opened for data collection in January 2021 to all Utah women aged 20 or older who were either currently employed or who were unemployed due to the pandemic. The aim was to understand more clearly the experiences of Utah women as they have navigated paid work during the pandemic. The comprehensive study included the collection of data on a wide variety of topic areas and included both quantitative and open-ended questions to capture participants’ perceptions and experiences. This brief is the second in a series of related reports being released in 2021; the first focused on changes, burnout, and hope. It is the first to analyze the extensive qualitative data collected and will highlight the qualitative analysis results of an open-ended question from the survey related to the impacts of COVID-19 on career advancement. 

Overview of Findings

This brief explores the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Utah women’s career advancement through analysis of data collected from the 2,564 survey participants who responded to the open-ended question, “How has the
pandemic impacted your career advancement experiences and opportunities over the short term and longer term?” The responses were coded and analyzed for major themes and subthemes. Because more than one code could be applied to the same comment, percentages reported do not add up to 100. Select comments are included that exemplify themes. 

For some respondents (13.4%), the pandemic afforded them opportunities for advancement that otherwise would not have existed, and others (27.5%) said the pandemic did not affect their career advancement at all. Yet, that does not necessarily mean the pandemic has been easy to endure. The data shared in this brief cover the 59.1% of respondents who described a negative effect on their career advancement. These effects range from mild to severe, yet they may all have longer-term implications on women’s career advancement. This brief will describe women missing out on pay raises, declining promotions, being fearful of looking for a better fit, and reevaluating their current career, mostly due to unsupportive employers and being employed in particularly affected industries. Other women have faced more severe effects such as enduring job loss and having to start over from the ground up due to minimal opportunity in their various fields. Although some of these effects are likely not gender specific and could have been experienced by anyone, we know from national research that women are more likely to be in industries negatively affected by the pandemic and also more likely to have made career sacrifices to focus on caregiving responsibilities. Analysis of the data uncovered four primary themes: Everything Is on Hold, Lost or Relinquished Opportunity, Reevaluation of Career, and Experiences by Various Characteristics. 

Theme #1: “Everything Is on Hold”

For the women who experienced a negative effect on their career advancement, the most oft-cited negative sentiment
(61.4%) was that any opportunity to advance their career was put on hold because of the pandemic. In fact, 21.9% of these respondents specifically mentioned that the pandemic felt like a “wasted year” with less opportunity for career advancement. Another 7.6% cited the uncertainty that brings. As one woman stated, “It feels as though the pandemic has been a large ‘HOLD’ button on career advancement. Until it is over, it feels like survival.” Another participant reflected, “I’m so focused on dealing with the daily upheaval that I can’t even comprehend what career advancement experiences would look like. Everything seems to be on hold.” The corresponding implications mentioned by respondents revealed four subthemes: the impact of lack of face-to-face time, increased work responsibility without increased pay, no raises or opportunity for advancement, and that women want change, but feel it is too risky. 

Theme #2: “Lost or Relinquished Opportunity”

The second major theme that emerged focused on women who had lost work, pay, or their business, or had sacrificed
opportunities to advance their career (29.7% of those who experienced a negative effect to career advancement). In
some cases, this was because of the precarious economy. For others, increased responsibility at home meant less time and bandwidth for new responsibilities, opportunities, and expectations. Some Utah women described a decline in mental health as the barrier to advancement, while others said these losses left them starting from scratch. As one participant noted, “I have had to give up advancement opportunities because I can barely manage what I am doing already.”

Theme #3: “Reevaluation of Career”

According to 18% of the respondents who experienced a negative effect to career advancement, the COVID-19 pandemic caused them to reevaluate their current position and career path where they may not have without the pandemic experience. No matter the reason, reevaluation may result in career disruptions with financial implications. One respondent simply stated, “Significant burnout has led me to consider changing careers.” Analysis of the data showed that 10.4% of respondents indicated the pandemic has prompted them to reevaluate their current situation, while 9.4% said either they had already or have now planned to switch industries or careers. For some, it was because of how their specific industry had fared in the pandemic, and others wanted to find more supportive employers. Some participants realized they want to go back to school, while others decided to leave the workforce altogether. Overall, the three subthemes presented here include changes that are industry-specific, changes that were sparked by unsupportive employers, and changes that result from general reflection and reevaluation.

Theme #4: Experiences by Characteristics

The final primary theme that emerged from the analysis relates to unique experiences women faced. The subthemes
revolve around the following three areas: women facing different challenges at work from those of their male counterparts, women of color facing different challenges than their white female or male colleagues, and the differences in challenges between women starting out in their careers and women in later career stages. 

Recommendations & Conclusion

Overall, many Utah women have explained that, for numerous reasons, they believe their career advancement trajectories have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. For some, this was employer related, such as paused raises and promotions because of economic uncertainty. For others, the stall was related to limitations imposed by remote work, such as lack of networking and inability to impress. Others felt they could not pursue opportunities like a promotion, a better job elsewhere, or furthering their education because of increased responsibility at home or declining mental health. And still others lost work, hours, or their business suffered. Clearly, the pandemic has had a profound impact on women at work, the effects of which may be felt for years to come. Yet there are many actions that can happen now to mitigate negative outcomes moving forward.

First, there is significant room for improvement in the support that organizations offer their employees. For example, flexible work arrangements, leave policies, and childcare support could be especially useful to many employees experiencing increased family responsibilities. The need for these policies did not start with the pandemic, but COVID-19 has heightened their utility, especially moving forward, to ensure women can effectively rebound and thrive. Research shows that offering family-friendly policies has a positive economic impact for the entire community, and it increases diversity, productivity, and job satisfaction for employees. Organizations can also actively recruit women who have left the workplace during the pandemic and implement long-term strategies for recruiting women who are returning to the workplace after career breaks. 

Second, Utah state and local governments can implement policies that benefit women’s recovery from the negative impact of COVID-19 and positively affect women in the future. These include implementing public policies that focus on
narrowing the gender pay gap; increasing investment in training and upskilling opportunities that support women, including return-to-work initiatives; offering incentives that encourage businesses to implement family-friendly and inclusive policies; and providing more support for childcare offices and programs around the state. 

This brief has summarized qualitative comments on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women’s career advancement. It was written to provide information useful for Utah governments, businesses, families, and individuals. The brief also calls to action Utah government, community, and business leaders to do more to understand the physical, behavioral, and emotional effects that Utah women are facing related to COVID-19. We encourage leaders to do more to implement strategies and facilitate communication to support the working women of Utah.

To learn more about the impact of COVID-19 on women's careers, read the full brief.