4.2.1. Losing Work

Overall, 10.8% of respondents saw their businesses suffer or close, lost their jobs, or lost work or pay. For those who felt fortunate enough to find another means of income, doing so sometimes meant finding a potentially irrelevant or lower-paying job and thus constituted a definite career disruption. In terms of business impacts, one woman simply stated, "I had to shut down my business completely and find a full-time job". Another said, "I own my own business. I now work at least twice as hard for half or less of the previous yield. I often work without pay to ensure I can pay others who help with our business and keep our program running". A third woman noted, "I had to lay off half the company. I asked employees to take pay cuts as well, including myself. We had to change how we do business to survive". One respondent explained that "the salon industry has lost at least 50% of their business, and we are low on labor hours because so many women left the industry". A childcare provider shared, "I do in-home childcare, and I lost almost all of my kids. Parents are working from home and keeping their kids home. I cannot work outside the home because I am raising three grandchildren and can't afford outside care".

Other participants discussed their transitions. One stated, "In the job I lost because of the pandemic, I was about to be promoted and moved to a new position, but never got the chance". Another said, "I lost contracts with clients and went back to a full-time job working for someone else". A third shared, "My long-term goal had been to move my preschool out of my home and into a commercial building. The pandemic stopped my preschool and made us more financially unstable, decreasing my chances of starting my own business. It's made me wary of starting my own business and inheriting those risks".

Finally, another woman stated, "I won't be able to last another year in my consulting, event, and speaking business if COVID-19 closures remain throughout the year".

#### 4.2.2. Sacrificing Advancement for Family

Many women who responded to our survey mentioned the challenge of working while having children at home and/or having the additional responsibility of homeschooling while also keeping up with work responsibilities. One participant noted that the additional burden could "stunt my career growth for a few years". Another mother stated, "COVID has not changed [career advancement] for me. Caregiving has".

In terms of participants who experienced a negative effect on their career advancement specifically, 7.5% gave up promotions, raises, and other opportunities that would have furthered their careers. As one woman stated, "I'm more focused on the flexibility offered by my employer than opportunities for advancement. I was a director but took a manager position because I needed to be available more to my children". Another shared, "I am hesitant to accept opportunities for advancement due to concern that I won't be able to manage increased responsibilities at work in addition to family responsibilities". Another explained, "I believe it has greatly impacted my career goals. I find myself taking on less technically complex projects as my coworkers because I hesitate to pile on too much work given the uncertainty of our daycare situation. I also can't be as available as my coworkers, which makes me feel like I will be passed over when promotions are available".

Finally, one mother reflected, "I was planning on leaving my current employer to pursue a career change as an analyst. That is no longer an option because I need more flexibility in my work schedule with all the changes to school schedules for my children".

Other participants discussed how they believe their opportunities for advancement have been impacted. For example, one respondent explained, "I think that [the pandemic] puts me into a vulnerable position to be overlooked as childcare needs are always a concern for management". Another stated, "I have had to work part time instead of full time to avoid putting my kids in childcare, which means I don't have another option for health insurance, tuition benefits, retirement, insurance, or other benefits. It's hard to be promoted when you can only work part time".

Another woman shared that "decreasing my work hours to care for my children meant sacrificing the eligibility I was working toward for health and dental insurance and the company 401 k program". A final respondent summed up her experience in this way: "I have put career goals entirely on hold. My focus right now is one day at a time, making sure my kids pass their current grade".

#### 4.2.3. Forgoing Planned Education

Some 7.3% of respondents reported delaying their education for reasons ranging from economic uncertainty, mental health concerns, increased responsibility at home, and costs related to acquiring further education. For many, continuing their education was key to future career advancement. For example, one woman stated, "I was thinking of going back to school for a graduate degree, but with the increased stress and uncertainty of the pandemic, I placed this goal on the back burner". Another explained, "I cannot attend classes to start my career, and I estimate I will be 2–4 years behind my planned start date because of the pandemic". A third said, "The pandemic has made it impossible for me to be able to do night classes due to the fact I have to stay home with my children. We used to have grandparents watch them after school, but it is now too risky".

One simply stated, "I decided to take spring semester off because I was burnt out and won't be able to finish school until later". Another participant noted, "I was planning on applying for graduate school this fall but have put that on hold indefinitely".

#### 4.2.4. Being Able to Perform Only the Bare Minimum

In our overall sample of respondents who participated in all open-ended questions, more than one in three women felt that COVID-19 caused a mental health toll or increased stress, with about one in five saying it was harder to do their job during the pandemic and about one in nine specifically mentioning fatigue, exhaustion, and burnout. In terms of those who experienced a negative effect to career advancement specifically, 4.2% mentioned

being able to meet only the bare minimum standards of their position because of additional stress and responsibility at home. For instance, one woman said, "This has been probably the year of my life where I've had the least energetic output of all time". Another stated, "Most of 2020 was spent in survival mode. I feel like I'm starting to recover, but it will take time before I'm fully thriving again". A third mentioned that "working from home is very difficult with small children, so the quality of my work has suffered a lot. It has affected my self-image as a mother and worker. I feel like I'm not doing a sufficient job in either area, and that has impacted my mental health".

Another respondent shared, "Honestly, I don't have the mental space to think beyond the present. I find myself uninterested in trying to advance or come up with the next step". A final woman exclaimed, "Advancement? Ha. I'm lucky to have the motivation to make it to work in the morning. I don't have the energy to think about change".
