Women more likely to lose their jobs and rights in wake of pandemic, Halifax lawyer warns

Hannah Strawbridge, said women have proven they can do the same work from home, but many businesses still have a “toxic” and “controlling” environment that will not allow them to do so.

She said: “When it comes to women in the workplace, the statistics are very disturbing in terms of the denigration of women’s rights in the workplace as a result of Covid-19.

“There was a survey recently that showed women are 50 per cent more likely than men to lose their jobs as a result of Covid-19. The reasons were that they were more likely to be made redundant but also they are more likely to quit their jobs due to Covid.”

One of the biggest factors is that women still shoulder most of the household responsibilities, according to Ms Strawbridge.

She said there are concerns that those who have proven they can work successfully from home will be forced back into offices.

The Halifax-based lawyer said: “There will be so many women who have shown that they can work from home, their job doesn’t have to be done in the office.

“The business is benefitting from it and saving costs and those women are more able to juggle childcare, particularly when they go back to school in September.

“They don’t have to do a commute, they don’t have to do a nine-to-five job when school starts at nine.

“It’s going to be quite interesting to see whether businesses that try to enforce or encourage their staff to come back into the office, are women going to be more likely to make more flexible working applications?”

Mr Strawbridge herself quit a number of jobs before setting up her own legal business as firms were not accommodating to the working mother.

“I left a number of jobs because it was just impossible and made me feel guilty and awful as a mum,” she said.

She concedes that there are industries where workers would need to meet at offices but cannot see why they should be based there for the whole week.

Ms Strawbridge added: “I feel deep down, there are still a lot of industries and businesses who think that when certain employees are at home they are watching Jeremy Kyle instead of working.

“I just know that from my own background of the law. That’s exactly how it is. A lot of that is to do with wanting to control staff and also quite toxic work cultures, which really shouldn’t have a place in 2020.”