Flexible Enough? The Gender Gap and the Uptake of Flexible Work

Flexible work arrangements (such as remote work, variable scheduling, variable work hours and shorter work weeks or hours) have been identified by researchers as a remedy to the pressures of traditional gender roles (such as child rearing and housekeeping) that make it harder for female workers to reach equity with their male counterparts. However, as our report notes, although women disproportionally bear the brunt of work/life responsibilities, they report having less flexibility than men in changing the rate at which they work, as well as their working hours. This lack of flexibility is more pronounced for women with young or several children. Traditionally these pressures have resulted in women being over-represented in the accommodation and food services industry. Unfortunately, this industry has also been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Canada may therefore have an unprecedented opportunity to expand employment opportunities for women by taking advantage of the widespread changes to work arrangements as a result of COVID-19. Our report provides a roadmap for policymakers and employers with multiple recommendations to extend options for flexible work across all industries. These include having employers implement a “trust-based” model to evaluate their employees on their output instead their hours, and creating informal networking opportunities for remote workers.Government of Canada’s Adult Learning, Literacy and Essential Skills Program Canadian Research Data Centre Network from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canadian Foundation for Innovation and Statistics Canada