MIT Sloan Management Review Article on How Executive Sponsors Can Help Address the COVID Gender Gap

When I was growing up in former Yugoslavia, my father would arrive home from work with bouquets of carnations for my mother and me on International Women’s Day. My husband has continued the tradition for our children, but this year’s Women’s History Month feels bittersweet.

I rejoiced in January when Kamala Harris became the first female vice president of the United States. But I was saddened when, in the same month of her historic inauguration, female representation in the U.S. labor force hit a 33-year low. In the past year, nearly 3 million American women have lost their jobs or left the workforce, many overwhelmed by the added family responsibilities and financial stressors brought on by the pandemic. Vice President Harris recently declared this exodus “a national emergency.”

About the Author

Ana Kreacic is chief operating officer of the Oliver Wyman Forum and chief knowledge officer of Oliver Wyman. She is the executive sponsor of Women of Oliver Wyman, an employee resource group, and sits on Oliver Wyman’s global Inclusion Council.

Learn more about MIT SMR.