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The COVID-19 pandemic has left a mark on all of us. And as we reflect on Women\u2019s History Month, it\u2019s important to explore how it has specifically affected women. In addition to amplifying pre-existing struggles, the pandemic brought new challenges for working women.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s important to start conversations now. In this blog, we share the stories of two admirable women in tech and see common themes we can all learn from as we adapt and emerge stronger from the pandemic.<\/p>\n
Expanded Responsibilities <\/strong><\/p>\n Like most parents, Rania Salloum, Sales Development Representative in Canada who started with Genesys at the beginning of the pandemic, saw the worlds of work and home collide. As a single parent, responding to her children\u2019s needs throughout the day meant longer hours in the evening.<\/p>\n \u201cWork was broken up into little sequences, and you end up working a bit later to make up for the time you\u2019ve lost during the day because of interruptions,\u201d said Rania.<\/p>\n While everyone had limited contact since the beginning of 2020, this was particularly pronounced for single parents like Dominique Field, a Marketing Director for Genesys in Australia. The natural opportunities to connect with co-workers just weren\u2019t there anymore. For Dominique, this became even harder as she juggled primary caretaker responsibilities alongside her growing workload in digital marketing. This meant the space for \u201cnatural and fun\u201d conversations with other adults shrank considerably both inside and<\/em> outside of work.<\/p>\n Both Rania and Dominique had new titles to add to the list: teacher and tech support. Not home schooling, but school at home, brought a whole new world of Zoom classes and online homework. These responsibilities, along with the traditional view that women are expected to be primary caretakers of children or aging relatives, further expanded the burden on women in the workplace.<\/p>\n Coping with Hidden Effects <\/strong><\/p>\n Dominique\u2019s creativity in digital marketing extends to her personal life. When COVID-19 first hit, she realised she didn\u2019t have many hobbies but quickly adapted to find ways to spend her time. Specifically, she took up bushwalking to give her and her dogs a place to go when they all needed to get out of the house. She also remained intentional about staying in touch with her friends and family to maintain those healthy relationships that help ward off feelings of isolation.<\/p>\n Rania is no stranger to challenges, but her cheerful demeanor serves her well as she approaches work with a positive attitude. Still, at times, she felt the emotional impact of being at home as the only adult in the house. Being on calls with adults during the day \u2014 but having only kids around in-person \u2014 wasn\u2019t the same as experiencing those adult relationships in real life. So she looked for creative ways to \u201cStay positive and see the end of the tunnel that COVID brought on,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n