Despite ongoing headlines suggesting a mass return to office, the work from home revolution jumpstarted by the pandemic is in full effect. Work from home rates are nearly quadruple what they were before the COVID-19 pandemic and nearly 36 million people – more than one in five workers – telework at least some of their hours. Nevertheless, research shows that many workers would like to telework more than they already are, raising questions for policymakers, businesses, unions and workers themselves on how to equitably and effectively approach this new way of working. But the conversation about telework goes beyond workplaces. It is also a conversation about workers’ experiences managing work and family responsibilities in the modern era – especially women workers.
In light of these significant trends reshaping work, flexibility and caregiving, we offer a new analysis of telework. We illuminate who is teleworking – and who isn’t. We detail how telework impacts a range of gender-equity concerns, both on the job and at home. Finally, we offer policy options designed to capitalize on the positive impacts of telework while mitigating its downsides.
Here are six insights from the report:
1. Women have higher rates of telework than men.
Across nearly every demographic group – by race, age, disability, marital status, parental status and more – women workers are working from home at higher rates than men. We find:
- Women are the majority of teleworkers, and a quarter of working women work from home at least some hours, compared to one in five working men.
- Half of women who telework – more than 9 million women – are fully remote, working all their hours off-site.
- Women are more likely to telework than men across nearly all racial and ethnic groups.
- Parents are more likely to telework than non-parents – and mothers are more likely to telework than fathers.
- Among workers with less educational attainment, women are substantially more likely to telework than men. Among workers with advanced degrees, men are more likely to telework than women.
- Millennials and older Gen Z workers (those ages 25-44) have the largest gender gap in telework of any age group.
- Telework rates are very low among low-paid workers, though even these workers have a gender gap.
2. The factors that shape women’s employment overall also shape access to telework opportunities.
The nation’s history of undervaluing women’s work and underpaying them for their labor, particularly women of color and disabled workers, means that women are overrepresented in jobs with lower wages, fewer benefits and worse conditions – a phenomenon researchers call occupational segregation. The consequences of occupational segregation are also evident in disparities in telework rates among women:
- Highly educated women are teleworking more than women with lower educational attainment, and white women and Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) women are teleworking more than Black, American Indian/Alaska Native and Latina women.
- Women workers have the same or higher rates of telework than men in nearly three-quarters of occupations, but in some of the most common occupations for women – including nurses, teachers, cashiers, retail salespersons and waitresses – women’s telework rates are far below average and in some cases are close to zero.
3. Who can telework has substantial implications for gender equity.
Early evidence suggests that the workplace flexibility that comes with telework can support women’s, disabled workers’, and caregivers’ labor force participation, economic security and ability to manage work and family responsibilities:
- Work from home opportunities improve women’s labor force participation by removing barriers and decreasing their likelihood to exit the workforce, particularly for mothers of young children.
- Telework positions may reduce or eliminate discrimination in hiring for mothers.
- Improved flexibility for working fathers may result in more equitable caregiving by parents.
- Working from home can be a critical accommodation for some disabled workers, better enabling their participation in the workforce.
4. Though many CEOs have cited productivity as the impetus to bring workers back to the office, there is little evidence supporting this rationale.
Researchers who analyzed the return-to-office policies of S&P 500 firms found that these mandates can be driven by “intuition rather than facts” and a desire to “control” workers and “blame employees as a scapegoat for bad firm performance.” These mandates, which are more common in big firms with “older or male CEOs,” drive down employee satisfaction while not improving firm financial metrics. In fact, telework opportunities often benefit employers, including through reduced costs, improved morale and retention, and access to a more diverse applicant pool. Telework may particularly benefit rural economies.
5. Telework should be governed by laws and policies, not just business decisions. Here is how policy can equitably increase telework opportunities.
Despite the scope of telework’s implications for women’s labor force participation, families’ economic security, job quality and the economy, decisions about telework access have largely been left in the hands of employers. This has created a chaotic environment where employers, including government employers, can make capricious yet consequential decisions for workers with few constraints. We contend that public policy should play an important role. We argue that:
- Firms considering mandatory return-to-work policies should evaluate the existing data on benefits for workers and employers before mandating full-time in-office policies without evidence-based justification.
- Thoughtful design and implementation of a telework program is essential to prevent discrimination and ensure accessibility.
- Anti-discrimination training, policies and enforcement must account for telework.
- Policymakers should consider policies that enable workers to equitably access telework and other workplace flexibilities, such as laws that support flexible work arrangements in Australia, the United Kingdom and the European Union.
- To ensure that implementation of telework policies – and the resulting benefits – does not exacerbate existing systemic inequities, it is even more important to guarantee that women are equitably represented in high-paying jobs. We must also raise wages and improve the quality of all jobs.
- We should invest in research and data to better understand the impact of telework on workers’ wages, caregiving responsibilities and labor force participation.
6. Telework is not a silver bullet.
Women still need living wages and workplace supports including equal pay, affordable child care, paid family and medical leave, paid sick days, aging and disability care supports, fair and predictable work schedules, and protections from discrimination.
As telework rates edge down, it’s urgent that we prioritize creating policies that capture the benefits of telework. However, telework is but one tool for enhancing workplace flexibility and improving gender equity – and it’s a tool that is not available to millions of workers. It must be part of a larger agenda for gender equity.
Read the full report, Who Works from Home? Remote Work, Gender Equity, and the Access Gap.
