4.4.2. Women of Color

Research has clearly found that women of color have been disproportionally impacted in many ways by the pandemic. For example, one participant stated, "Women of color continue to have to work 10 times harder in the workplace to be considered for promotion. I am hopeful that one day the playing field will be more leveled, and I am committed to be a role model for change especially in a white male- dominated workforce".

Another simply said, "The pandemic continues to impact the lack of opportunities that my company offers for women of color", while a third plans to move from the state altogether: "Due to the pandemic and the resulting schism caused by the election, I have made the choice to move out of Utah. I do not feel safe living in Utah, nor do I feel that the state or the community in which I live can support me or anyone that identifies as "other." I know leaving Utah and its tech-hub industry can and will negatively impact the trajectory of my career".

Two additional quotations also described the specific impacts for women of color. One woman explained, "I found that my supervisor was less supportive of me, as a woman of color, compared to my peers. I was being overworked, under-valued, and minimized. I was repeatedly told that I should be more positive and optimistic regarding the pandemic and gaslighted when I brought up concerns over my safety and the safety of [my team]. After 6 months of struggling to stand my ground, I chose to resign from my position and switched to a temporary position working from home".

The second woman described her situation as follows: "Since some of my family members are undocumented, they were left without work, and I had to step in to support them financially. I took care of my father and brother with disabilities through a great portion of the year. Since both are in high-risk, vulnerable populations, the challenges presented to me at work were made to be even more significant. This financial stress, concern over my family's health, mixed in with the poor work environment, led me to make the difficult decision to leave my professional field for temporary work in an adjacent field. I worry that this could have significant impact on my career goals".

#### 4.4.3. Emerging-Versus Later-Career Differences

Finally, there were some differences in the impact of COVID-19 on women's earlyversus later-career advancement challenges. In terms of early-career observations, three statements were instructive: First, one woman stated, "I'm very worried about my chances at finding an internship this summer, which could impact my future career. I also think I'm getting less information about organizations/events/career fairs I should be attending because I spend less time on campus". Another said, "Unfortunately, I was hoping to gain experience in my chosen field through internships, but the opportunities I applied for were cancelled". A final individual entering the job market with a Ph.D. explained, "I graduated with a Ph.D. in STEM in 2019 and took a temporary job substitute teaching K–12 while applying for something more long term. Since then, hiring has severely slowed in an already over-crowded field. I'm now pursuing employment in an area outside the field I have spent the last decade training in".

In terms of later-stage career challenges, one woman replied, "Industries are even more hesitant to hire workers over 50 now". Another said, "I had been with my employer over 10 years and planned to retire from there [but was laid off]. I now am struggling to be hired as an 'older' woman in the workforce". A third stated, "I don't ever expect to move forward in my career after this. I am 58. I see no opportunities to recover the lost time. I have been passed over repeatedly for jobs I was qualified for because of my age and gender".

Yet another participant shared her situation as follows: "At 58, my options for finding new suitable employment are slim when unemployment is high because of the pandemic. For me, the pandemic has impacted my income for the rest of my life, not just the duration of the pandemic. It has effectively ended my employment status for the future".

A final participant added this view, "I am 64 years old, loved my job, and wanted to work 1–2 more years. But with the pandemic, I wanted to minimize my risks and felt I needed to retire. I will now pay for my health insurance until I am 65 and my income has decreased. I will get by but am sad to have left a job I had for over 20 years."

#### **5. Discussion**

The findings of this study support the large body of literature that highlights structural barriers and systemic gender inequality in professional workplaces [13,15,21,23,33,36]. The findings further support the assertion that known barriers that have been in place for many years were exacerbated by the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic [11,37,40,52]. The major themes identified in the study—Everything Is on Hold, Lost or Relinquished Opportunity, Reevaluation of Career, and Experiences by Various Characteristics—confirm a system that is already precarious, but the added stressors of the pandemic made many women's circumstances untenable. While ostensibly there are paths for women to advance in the workplace, and many women do reach the pinnacles of leadership roles in their careers, there are also many barriers, and the path for many women is quite narrow.

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed dynamics that lay just below the surface. It highlighted an overall professional system that is barely functional in terms of gender equality and one that is not set up to truly facilitate women's advancement. The findings are analogous to a power grid that is old and dilapidated: it seems functional until it is faced with a stressor, such as a series of very hot days, then it goes awry and malfunctions spectacularly. During the COVID-19 pandemic, basic supports (such as childcare) that had allowed women with families to succeed in the workplace were stripped away. Women shouldered the professional setbacks that happened when children suddenly needed full-time care at home [62–64]. The pandemic laid bare the dynamics of a culture that is still not set up to help women as a whole succeed in the workplace. As the literature reviewed earlier in this

paper suggests, some of the processes in professional organizations may be entrenched due to the pervasive and hegemonic traditional gender socialization of individuals [27,30,37]. It may also result from the unconscious desires on the part of actors in systems to maintain the status quo [48].
