ISG Digital Dish Episode 8: What has the pandemic ever done for us?

When Kayla Harrington, then student now Legal Research Assistant at Thomson Reuters, wrote a blog about inherent gender bias in society, she was clearly hoping to raise the profile of the issue. But she didn’t anticipate that her blog would gain the attention of her father Jeff Harrington, whose eyes were opened to the issues she raised, or that it would eventually lead to a discussion on the ISG Women in Digital podcast.

At college, Kayla took a very academic approach to the issue of sexism and developed the belief that the world was changing and gender equality was improving. Upon graduating and entering the world of work, she realized there was still a long way to go to overcome what she terms “ambivalent sexism.” This is the subtle and generally accepted sexism that permeates both the language we use to talk about women and the way we interact with women across all walks of life.

Join host Jeanne Cuff as she talks to the father-daughter duo about gender inclusivity and how companies today must go further than just ensuring equal representation of women in the workplace. They discuss how the global pandemic of 2020 has highlighted the struggle for many women managing both family and work.

Statistics indicate that one million people have left the workforce this year and that 80 percent of them were women who felt unable to juggle both work and family commitments under the unprecedented circumstances. According to Jeff, this creates a great opportunity for change. Because the pandemic has brought work and family life closer to each other for both men and women, many men can appreciate in a new way the challenges working women have faced for generations. He believes this appreciation will bring understanding, greater inclusivity – and hopefully less inherent gender bias in the workplace.

Listen in to hear the discussion.

 

About the authors

Lois is a recognized expert in the field of Service Management and Governance. As Partner and President, ISG GovernX®, she drives innovation and industry leading practices in the area of service integration, operational effectiveness and operating model transformation. She brings more than 25 years of experience in IT operations transformation to her work with such ISG clients as Abbott, CNA, Exelon, Loblaw, Monsanto, Pitney Bowes and United Technologies.
LinkedIn Profile

With more than 25 years of industry and consulting experience, Julie is an invaluable advisor for enterprises needing to evaluate and assess alternatives for multi-process HR service delivery, including workforce administration, payroll, benefits, compensation, recruiting, technology, learning, and talent management. Julie leads complex global HR assessments and transactions around the world. Prior to joining ISG, Julie worked for nearly a decade as an independent consultant, providing market research, vendor assessments, systems testing and implementation consulting to a broad community of benefits administration vendors and human resources departments. Julie started her career in human resources outsourcing, establishing shared service centers for a national benefits consulting and administration firm. She is a well-published thought leader in her field.

Jeanne Cuff is an Associate Director in the Governance Services-Managed Services organization who brings a broad set of experiences to support ISG clients. Jeanne has over 20 years of senior leadership and consulting roles in operations, human resources, network and SaaS.