While a recent McKinsey and LeanIn.org women and the workplace study pointed to positive gains for women in corporate leadership roles in 2020, women continue to face substantial burdens in their careers. According to this Forbes article, McDermott Partner Michael Peregrine says such burdens pose a “significant threat to the economic and cultural health of an organization.” These burdens include hierarchical validation, burnout, and significant bias and discrimination for women of color.
“Ideally, boards can use the 2020 progress as evidence that their leadership on gender equity can—and does—make a difference,” Peregrine notes.
One of the COVID-19 pandemic’s most insidious harms has been the impact on employee health, morale and productivity arising from the erosion of home/work boundaries. In this Forbesarticle, McDermott partner Michael W. Peregrine argues that the mitigation of such harms is a board’s business.