*4.2. Theme #2: "Lost or Relinquished Opportunity"*

The second major theme that emerged focused on women who had lost work, pay, or their business, or who 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 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". In all, the following six subthemes emerged: losing work, sacrificing advancement for family, forgoing planned education, being able to perform only the bare minimum, experiencing mental health barriers to advancement, and moving backwards.
