Creating Inclusive Remote Workspaces

Working from home has often been hailed as the great equaliser. While it enables a much needed flexibility, particularly for those with caregiving responsibilities, for many women, it comes with hidden inequalities, starting with the simple question: where are you working from? A striking finding from the 2024 UK Skills and Employment Survey reveals that while 60% of men have a dedicated room for work at home, only 40% of women do. This difference might appear small, but it speaks volumes about the subtle, physical barriers that can affect productivity, wellbeing, and career progression for women. The same survey found that men are far more likely to have a home office set up purely for work. Women, on the other hand, are often working from spaces intended for other uses, such as the kitchen or dining room, where distractions and domestic responsibilities frequently overlap with professional life. A private, dedicated workspace means fewer interruptions, greater focus, and clearer boundaries between work and home. Without it, the blurring of roles and the weight of the ‘second shift’ falls disproportionately on women. This matters not just for individuals, but for organisations committed to gender equity. Hybrid work policies designed without awareness of these realities risk widening gaps rather than closing them. At Shape Talent Ltd, we believe gender equity is built not only through policies but through an understanding of how seemingly small details, like a door that closes, can shape careers. How is your organisation ensuring that hybrid work works equitably for everyone? #GenderEquality #GenderEquity #FlexibleWorking #RemoteWorking Link to the research findings in the comments.

We shouldn’t still be asking women to choose between career success and family life. But here we are. This recent article from TIME highlights a growing concern: inflexible return-to-office policies are contributing to a potential “she-cession” with women, especially working moms, stepping back or stepping out of the workforce altogether. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gJMgtRqc As a working mother, I’ve seen firsthand how flexible work especially remote options can be the difference between burnout and balance, between staying in the game and opting out. During the pandemic, many organizations found that productivity and engagement levels did not drop significantly with remote work. In fact, flexible models empowered women to thrive professionally while managing their family responsibilities, highlighting that flexible work isn’t just a benefit - it’s a tool for gender equity and leadership development. By embracing flexible schedules and work-from-home options, companies can support women in balancing their careers and personal lives, helping to build more diverse, equitable leadership pipelines for the future. Leaders: Let’s not lose the progress we’ve made. Let’s build workplaces that work for everyone. Let’s make sure women don’t have to choose between career success and family life - let’s empower them to have it all.

The Unintended Casualty of Return-to-Office (RTO) Mandates: Gender Equity. We need to talk about a worrying trend. As more companies enforce strict RTO mandates, we are seeing an immediate, compounding side effect: the re-widening of the gender pay gap. For years, flexible and remote work acted as an equalizer. It didn’t just offer convenience—it dismantled structural barriers. It allowed primary caregivers (who, statistically, remain predominantly women) to stay in full-time roles, pursue leadership tracks, and avoid the "motherhood penalty" of forced part-time transitions. But stripping away that flexibility creates an immediate friction point. When a rigid presence is required, and infrastructure (like childcare) doesn't bridge the gap, women are disproportionately forced to make a choice: step back, step down, or exit. However, simply offering remote work isn't a silver bullet. Without a cultural shift, flexibility breeds the "Proximity Bias." If a company maintains a traditional mindset, those who are physically visible in the office (often men) secure the promotions and the discretionary bonuses. Meanwhile, remote workers get left "out of sight, out of mind." The Solution? Flexibility and remote work MUST go hand-in-hand with a Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE). True equity cannot exist in a system that measures value by badge swipes or desk time. We must shift the paradigm: * Evaluate outcomes, not visibility. * Reward impact, not presenteeism. * Standardize progression based on objective data, not hallway politics. If we want to build a future of work that actually fits the modern workforce, we cannot rely on outdated yardsticks. Let’s stop measuring WHERE and WHEN people work, and start focusing entirely on WHAT they achieve. Salesforce Atlassian Novo Nordisk Female Fairness #FutureOfWork #GenderEquity #Leadership #RemoteWork #ROWE #CompanyCulture

Return-to-office policies aren’t neutral they just pretend to be. When companies say “we’re bringing everyone back for culture”, it sounds reasonable and fair. Equal. One rule for all. But one rule for all does not land equally on all. It lands differently on the parent who still does most of the school admin. On the mother whose childcare bill already rivals her mortgage. On the woman who quietly structured her entire life around the sliver of flexibility she finally had. Remote work didn’t create imbalance. It exposed it. For the first time, many women weren’t spending two hours commuting on top of everything else. They could log off at 5.30 and actually start the second shift. They could attend the Teams call and the sports day without performing logistical gymnastics. It wasn’t perfect but it was oxygen. And now we’re told culture matters more. Collaboration matters more. Visibility matters more. Visibility to whom? Because let’s be honest. When offices refill, the people who can stay late without consequence are not evenly distributed. When “face time” becomes valuable again, it doesn’t reward the person who has to leave at 4.45 for pickup. When flexibility shrinks, it doesn’t shrink equally. We talk about fairness as if treating everyone the same is the definition of it. It isn’t. If one group is already carrying the majority of unpaid care, removing flexibility doesn’t create equality it compounds inequality. And then we look at the data. Women still disproportionately part-time. Women still disproportionately stepping sideways. Women still reporting higher anxiety and burnout. We call it preference. We call it choice. We rarely call it what it is. Structural pressure. Rigid expectations about who absorbs the strain. Remote work didn’t fix gender imbalance. But for a moment, it softened the edges. Rolling it back without addressing the care gap isn’t a culture decision. It’s a values decision. And we shouldn’t pretend it’s neutral. Because when flexibility goes, it doesn’t disappear into thin air. It transfers. Usually onto women.

The return-to-office gender gap is interesting—and it could be costing women more than flexibility. According to a recent The Wall Street Journal article, a growing gender gap is emerging in who’s returning to the office: In 2024, 36% of employed women worked from home on an average day vs. 29% of men. The divide is largely driven by women still carrying more of the household and childcare load. But the potential hidden cost? Opportunities, promotions, and special projects often happen in person—when spontaneous hallway conversations or leadership visibility spark them. 📍 Let’s be honest: being in the right room at the right moment still matters. Remote flexibility has enabled women to remain in the workforce—but some could be missing out on career-defining moments that aren’t scheduled on the calendar. 🎯 As leaders, we should ask ourselves: Are we creating equal access to career advancement in hybrid environments? Are our best people (not just our most present people) getting the big projects? Do we rely too heavily on in-person visibility to drive who gets noticed? What have you seen in your workplace? Are hybrid workers getting a fair shot at growth? #Leadership #FutureOfWork #TalentEquity

International Women's Day is not about buying flowers or giving women an extra day off, employers should do the hard thing and talk about the Gender Pay Gap in their organizations and how we can improve opportunities for women in the workplace. Admitting you have a problem, is often the first step to a solution. At Mews we have a Gender Pay Gap. Our data shows a mean (average) gap of 17,2% and we have a median of 13,7% when we compare the average wage of men vs women in our business. This is not great, far from it. Usually the cause is complex and there is no easy answer. People will ask, "why don't you just increase the salary of women?" thinking that should solve this. This unfortunately is not the root cause, we pay women the same salary as men for doing the same work. The challenge is that women simply do not have the same opportunities to progress their careers in the workplace as men have. The results are impacted by systemic, structural factors: economic, cultural, societal, educational. What are we doing at Mews to improve this? 1️⃣ Create awareness of the problem through data. We will share the data with our entire team at our company-all-hands today. It is important to understand where the problem is biggest, is this in specific countries or teams or competency levels in the organization? We will continue to report on this going forward, but also set targets we want to hit. 2️⃣ Inclusive hiring: the problem starts at the top of the funnel, ensuring our pool of candidates represents society better, especially for more senior roles. Last year 51% of hires were women at Mews, now we have to ensure this is the same also in more senior roles. 3️⃣ Build communities: we need to ensure that we have places where women and allies can freely talk about their challenges and support each other. 4️⃣ Remote first: I have talked about this before, remote-first creates flexibility for parents who return to the workplace. Telling people to return to a physical office between 9-to-5 simply will not work for most young mothers. 5️⃣ Training programs: we will launch a Women in Leadership program in Q4 this year, specifically targeted at helping women develop leadership skills and opportunities. 6️⃣ Talk about it: while this is a scary conversation for most CEO's and managers, it is so important that we do not shy away from it. Admit there is a problem, and then ensure you have a plan to fix it. I am so happy to have a Chief People Officer in our organization who helped educate me on this topic, she is simply amazing. Thank you Naomi Trickey.

💬 Return-to-office mandates are disproportionately hurting women — and that’s not okay. Recent data makes it clear: as more companies enforce return-to-office (RTO) policies, women are paying the highest price — leaving jobs, taking pay cuts, or seeing their career growth stall. 📊 Here’s what the data shows: Between January and June 2025, labor force participation among women ages 25–44 with a child under five dropped from about 69.7% to 66.9%. https://lnkd.in/dKx9huDm The gender pay gap widened in 2024 — women earned roughly 80.9 cents for every dollar earned by men, down from 84 cents in 2022. https://lnkd.in/dGkSz3rH In a study of 5,000 U.S. workers, women were 3.3 percentage points more likely than men to continue working remotely or hybrid — at a time when more men were returning to the office. https://lnkd.in/d47qbwSw ⚠️ Why this matters: Caregiving responsibilities: Women still carry most of the caregiving and household load. Remote and hybrid work gave them flexibility — RTO mandates take that away. https://lnkd.in/dj44pivf Visibility and advancement: When more men are in the office and women aren’t (or can’t be), women miss out on spontaneous interactions, mentorship, and high-visibility opportunities that often drive promotions. https://lnkd.in/dKx9huDm Equity at risk: After years of progress toward gender equity, rigid RTO mandates threaten to roll back gains in pay, leadership representation, and workplace diversity. 🎯 Questions leaders should be asking: Are we valuing presence over performance? Do we have systems that ensure equal access to visibility, mentorship, and advancement — regardless of where someone works? Are our productivity metrics based on outcomes and impact, not hours spent in the office? Are we tracking how RTO policies are impacting gender representation, engagement, and retention? ✅ My call to action: Flexibility isn’t a perk — it’s a competitive advantage. It’s essential to retaining top talent, advancing women, and creating workplaces where everyone can thrive. As leaders, we have a responsibility to build and protect flexible work environments that enable women — and all caregivers — to succeed. If we don’t, we risk widening the gender gap and losing the diversity of thought that drives innovation, empathy, and growth. I’d love to hear how other leaders are balancing flexibility with business needs in this new phase of work. #Leadership #WomenInWork #HybridWork #DiversityEquityInclusion #WorkplaceCulture #FutureOfWork

𝟵𝟭,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵. 10,000 men joined. That's not a trend. That's a warning sign we're ignoring. When I was a single mom climbing the corporate ladder,  I did the math every single day. School pickup at 3. Daycare closed at 6. Commute: 45 minutes best case scenario. Meetings scheduled at 4:30 "because it works for everyone." It didn't work for me. But I made it happen.  Day after day. Week after week. Watching the clock and hoping for nothing but green lights between the office and my kid. The latest jobs report confirms what millions of us already know: We're not leaving because we want to. 𝗪𝗲'𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁𝗺𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗮𝗹: ↳ In 2025, men joined the workforce at 𝟯𝘅 the rate of women ↳ Black women's unemployment: 7.3% (vs 4.4% overall) ↳ Childcare for two kids now costs more than rent ↳ Remote women promoted at 37% vs 49% for remote men ↳ 317,000 fed workers left in 2025 - from agencies that are 54-66% women This isn't a "women's issue."  It's an economic crisis that hurts everyone. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘁𝗺𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘀: ↳ A company losing knowledge it can't replace ↳ A career ended too soon ↳ A retirement account that never recovers ↳ A household income slashed overnight, with kids feeling it first 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹'𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝘅.  𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗼 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜: ↳ 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀: Run equity checks before every reorg. Ask who's missing from key projects and why. 𝗕𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. ↳ 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 & 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀: Build your network now. Find sponsors. 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘀. ↳ 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲: Talk about this truth. Normalize caregiving as real life, not a work interruption. Push back when "flexibility" gets framed as a favor. 𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲. Companies doubling down on RTO and gutting equity protections aren't just losing talent. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲. We can do better. We have to. ♻️ Share this with everyone you know 🔔 Follow Jen Phillips for success that's better for business and healthier for humans [𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘢: 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘶 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴, 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘣𝘦𝘴, 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘬]

I am thrilled to share Research Insights on Women and Remote Work! Through my recent study, conducted as part of the XLRI-PGDM(HRM) for Emerging CHROs program, I explored the impact of remote work on the performance and professional growth of early-career women in the IT industry. Combining data from survey participants and in-depth interviews, this research uncovers how remote work reshapes women's workplace experiences. Key Findings: - Flexibility and Balance: Remote work provides much-needed flexibility, helping women better balance professional and personal responsibilities. - Visibility Challenges: Many women feel their contributions are less visible in remote settings, impacting career growth and recognition. - Mentorship Gaps: A lack of structured mentorship opportunities (average score: 3.93/5) highlights the need for stronger organizational support. - Collaboration Needs: Women value effective teamwork (4.22/5), but remote settings call for enhanced tools and processes. The Big Takeaway: While remote work empowers women to manage their dual roles effectively, it also underscores the importance of addressing visibility, mentorship, and collaboration gaps to ensure equitable career advancement. This research emphasizes the critical need for organizations to foster more inclusive, supportive, and growth-oriented environments for women. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this study! #research #remotework #workfromhome #WFH #workfromanywhere #women #performance #productivity

– New research by Laura Doering and András Tilcsik at University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management shows that in-person work environments expose women to significantly higher levels of bias and mistreatment than remote work. – The study of over 1,000 professional women found that 31% reported experiencing discrimination on-site, compared to just 17% when remote. For women in male-dominated workplaces, the rate jumped to 58% in-office versus 26% remote. – Younger women are especially vulnerable: 31% under age 30 reported discrimination at the office, compared to only 14% remotely. – Real-world cases like Tata Consultancy Services—where harassment reports more than doubled after a full RTO—highlight the risks companies face. – Beyond harming morale and equity, RTO-driven discrimination carries heavy financial costs: lawsuits, turnover, and reputational damage borne by shareholders and taxpayers alike. How can shareholders and taxpayers hold leaders accountable for the financial risks tied to workplace discrimination?