RETHINKING THE COSTS OF RETURNING TO OFFICE FOR WOMEN
If your company's return-to-office mandate feels like it's hitting different, you're not alone. While the polarizing office debate affects everyone differently, mounting evidence shows that return-to-office policies are creating distinctly different challenges for women in the workforce.
Let's talk numbers first: McKinsey's 2023 Women in the Workplace report shows that flexibility is consistently one of the top factors in women's decisions to join or stay with an organization. This isn’t about preference; it's about practicality. Women are still shouldering the majority of domestic responsibilities, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics' American Time Use Survey showing that employed women spend significantly more time on household activities and caregiving compared to employed men. Now, the real question isn't whether women want flexibility–it's why we're still pretending this is about preference rather than necessity.
The financial impact is equally concerning. With women earning 82 cents for every dollar earned by men, the added costs of returning to office–from commuting expenses to childcare–take a proportionally larger bite out of women's paychecks. Weathering this financial burden can make RTO a non-starter for many women, inevitably forcing them to choose between their careers and their families.
Moreover, visibility–or lack-there-of–has tangible career impacts on women. A recent study by the Harvard Business Review found that women who worked remotely were less likely to be promoted than their male counterparts, even when their performance was equal. This "proximity bias,” A.K.A. the tendency to favor those who are physically present, can often create an unfair playing field for women who will at some point or another, require more flexibility in their work arrangements.
With women's workforce participation still recovering from pandemic-era setbacks, companies that fail to consider the gendered impact of their RTO policies risk losing valuable talent. But forward-thinking organizations are finding ways to bridge this gap. They're creating promotion criteria based on impact rather than office presence, ensuring virtual networking carries the same weight as in-person connections, and building career paths that prioritize results over face time. Some are even tackling the childcare equation head-on with stipends that reflect actual costs and core collaboration hours that respect caregiving schedules.
Take Salesforce, for example, which offers employees up to $100 per day in backup childcare reimbursement alongside flexible team agreements where groups decide their own collaboration schedules. PwC has introduced a "flexibility by day" program, letting employees coordinate in-office days based on actual team needs rather than arbitrary mandates.
As we navigate the next chapter of work, one thing is becoming crystal clear: flexibility isn't a female issue, it's a future of the workplace issue. Now, smart companies aren't just adapting their policies; they're starting to adapt their mindset. Because in the end, the most successful organizations won't be the ones with the fullest offices, but the ones with the fullest understanding of what their talent actually needs to thrive.
