Mass exodus | The worrying trend of women prematurely abandoning their careers

The uncertainty and anxiety created by the pandemic, among other things, encouraged many to stop and consider what the key priorities in their life were. All of a sudden, COVID-19 put people’s lives into perspective like never before and caused many to realise that work truly wasn't the most important thing to them – it’s their families and the people they love.

As a result, 1.75 million people in the UK left their jobs in 2022 to care for family, 84% of which were women. This stat potentially indicates that not only is there still an outdated expectation of the roles of men and women, there may not be enough support available in the workplace for women looking to effectively balance their family life and their career¹.

The importance of diversity

Firstly, why do you need to focus your strategy on those that are already set on leaving? The answer lies in what diversity can offer your business – not just culturally but in terms of productivity and innovation.

Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEI&B) has never been so important; it helps to create a workforce that is rich in individuality, has different viewpoints and fresh ways of tackling issues. In a recent report, McKinsey & Company found that businesses in the top quartile for diversity were found to be 35% more likely to have financial returns above their industry medians². Therefore, if women are leaving your workforce at an excessive rate, they could be taking certain, hard to replace insights and skills with them³.