With the unemployment rate never higher than four percent for any of the first eight months of 2019, employers know they need to up their game to attract and retain qualified workers.
To that end, many companies are discovering that focusing on women, a talented and educated segment of the market, is yielding positive results.
Here’s why employers are hiring more women in 2019
A highly educated, under-utilized candidate pool.
Convincing people working elsewhere to leave their position and join your business is certainly one way to fill open positions. Tapping hidden gems currently involved in activities outside of paid employment, such as stay-at-home moms, is another route. Women left the workforce at twice the rate of men in the three years prior to 2015, so encouraging them to come back opens up a large, valuable pool of talent.
Flexible arrangements enable greater workforce participation.
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While telecommuting and other flexwork options appeal to a variety of prospective workers, many women in the aforementioned group see such arrangements as a necessity because they serve as primary caregivers for children or elderly parents.
For example, in a FlexJobs survey of more than 900 stay-at-home parents, 36% said they wanted to keep working but their job was too inflexible. Savvy employers note such information and take measures to give workers more control over where and when tasks get done.
Likewise, remote work expands the number of potential candidates by eliminating geographical barriers. Women unwilling to uproot their family for a job or military spouses who relocate often can throw their hat into the ring. Employers aware of this way to increase interest in open positions often solve their hiring dilemmas.
Women are putting themselves up for consideration and getting noticed.
During times with plentiful applicants, women sometimes experience problems receiving proper consideration in nontraditional fields, such as construction and manufacturing. When a shortage of candidates exists, however, employers often think more “outside the box” and give women their rightful chance to compete.
Similarly, the hot job market, coupled with the renewed interest in workplace equality generated by #MeToo and other movements, has encouraged women to take action for career satisfaction. They possess greater confidence about seeking a promotion, moving to a company that pays better, or changing to a field better in line with their aspirations. When a higher number of women apply for jobs, it follows that more also get hired.
Women hold degrees in some of the hottest fields.
Finally, a chief reason for employers hiring more women in 2019 is because they need them! The healthcare industry, for instance, is booming due to more people seeking care because of age, chronic conditions, and insurance coverage. Though the number of men who work as nurses has tripled since 1970, women still make up about 90% of the nursing industry.
A similar scenario exists in early childhood education. Studies continue to show that investing in preschool education yields big dividends down the road, but finding qualified candidates for the growing array of programs proves challenging. The number of men seeking post-secondary education in early childhood remains low (only 2.3% of all preschool and kindergarten teachers are male), so employers must turn to women to fill positions.
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