PARENTING IN THE TIME OF COVID-19 Tuesday, August 11th 1PM - 2:30PM EST Please click on the link to RSVP, and share with your colleagues!
Women in Lighting + Design is beginning a series of conversations for parents within our community. For this kick-off event, we will be focusing on the difficulties facing parents as kids head back to school this fall. While never easy during normal times, the pandemic has created a stressful environment with parents balancing work, schooling, and the safety of their family. We hope you’ll take advantage of this chance to connect nationally and brainstorm solutions together. We would also like to encourage any dads to join – this conversation is for everyone.
RSVP HERE!
WILD recognizes a need to illuminate the struggles of working parents. The 2018 survey Why Mothers Leave Design (and How to Keep Them) and subsequent presentations by Lisa Reed and Emily Klingensmith made it clear that flexibility plays a huge role in allowing parents the chance to provide care for their family while providing their employer with their best work. We also learned during LEDucation 2019 that the family leave policies for many are non-existent or very minimal, and discussed how being a working mother can slow down career growth due to lack of support. The pandemic is bringing these issues to the fore-front and also highlighting the abundance of women’s domestic burden. Studies are showing that the nation may lose a large percentage of women in the workforce as they are forced to choose between work and parenting, and any gains in equal pay may be rolled back due to this loss. Let’s work together to keep that from happening in the lighting industry. Please share these conversations with all colleagues so that we may have an honest conversation with both men and women. It must be normalized for men to share the responsibility of family needs and to have the opportunity to create a deeper bond with their children. We will not see change until both men and women care about these issues. Join us as we dig in deep on a national level, and compile recommendations that can be a reference for both employees and employers trying to create a more equal and supportive industry.
Check out UN Women for more information on the impact of Covid-19 on women and girls, including their Policy Brief from April 2020.