Why women’s careers have been hurt the most by Covid-19

The coronavirus outbreak has infected more than 40 million people worldwide and damaged economies, industries and employment levels. But women are being disproportionately hurt by the economic fallout of the crisis. With sectors that typically employ women, such as retail and hospitality, badly affected by Covid-19, women’s jobs are 1.8 times more vulnerable to the crisis than men’s, according to the global consultancy McKinsey & Company.

McKinsey’s research during the pandemic has also found that more female than male employees fear Covid will negatively affect their promotion prospects. And all of this at a time when women were already wrestling with the thorny issue of equality in the workplace and the gender pay gap. So how will the crisis affect women’s finances? Can their careers cope if they step out of the workplace until coronavirus has gone away? 

Host Alice Haine is joined by Chiara Marcati, partner at McKinsey and Company and author of the firm's Women at Work report, to find out how women can get their careers back on track post-Covid.