No abstract

As the workforce shifts to being predominantly hybrid and remote, how can companies help employees—particularly early-career women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields—develop greater confidence in their soft skills, shown to improve organizational retention? We evaluate the effects of an online longitudinal intervention to develop soft skills among early-career women employees at a North American biotechnology company during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Controlling for baseline levels collected immediately prior to nationwide lockdowns, we find that a 6-month online intervention increased early-career women’s assessments of their soft skills at work by an average of 9% ( P < 0.001), compared with a decrease of about 3.5% for a matched control group ( P < 0.05), resulting in an average treatment effect of nearly 13% on the treated group. Furthermore, we find evidence that the intervention led to an increase in manager-assessed performance for early-career women relative to employees not in the intervention, and that overall, increased self-assessments of soft skill competencies were associated with greater odds of retention. Results show how employee soft skill development was affected by the pandemic and provide insights for a feasible and cost-effective method to train and engage a hybrid or fully remote workforce.

This article examines how penalizing men who “do gender” in nonstereotypical ways ultimately maintains the gender system. Leveraging data from an online survey experiment conducted with hiring decision-makers, I develop and test a theory of a help-seeking paradox whereby managers are less likely to interview and hire fathers who used career reentry assistance (CRA) relative to fathers who did not. However, this penalty does not emerge for mothers. A second online survey experiment reveals that two years of full-time employment after reentry diminishes the negative effects of CRA for fathers. Nonetheless, lingering stigma from having previously left paid work for childcare continues to disadvantage fathers relative to mothers, with perceptions of competence and commitment mediating long-term effects. These studies demonstrate how the reinforcement of cultural gender rules punishes both mothers and fathers seeking more equitable career coordination while providing novel insight into the boundaries of penalties for men who violate gender stereotypes.