Women in remote office face spate of the same problems as women in a typical place, including the very real gender pay gap that exists no matter where you work. But working remotely initiates a distinct provide of circumstances–good, bad, and just different–that affect women’s professional experiences.

Zapier recently released our remote work report, and one of our discovers stood out: wives are more likely to want to work remotely, but they’re less likely to be given the option.

According to our inspection, female insight proletarians will probably than male insight works to say the option to work remotely is one of the design perks they would most prefer to be offered( 62% vs. 53%) and that home is where they would be the most productive when working( 50% vs. 37% ). At the same time, female acquaintance employees are more likely than male lore employees to say they don’t work remotely because their company does not allow it( 40% vs. 25% ), and that they have quit a racket because the company didn’t offer a flexible work schedule( 24% vs. 17% ).

When I asked my girl coworkers about their experiences is currently working on a circulated company, their refutes supported these sees: the government has overwhelmingly positive things to say about being women in remote work. What follows is just the tip of the iceberg.

Remote work is a relatively new field, which intends there isn’t a ton of data on its effects, especially as it relates to gender. In fact, the various reports on the topic often present contradictory conclusions. That’s why I’ve rooted this section in anecdotes that are backed by data on non-remote work topics.

Keeping personal options personal

When people talk about women in remote work, it’s often a discussion about being a mom in remote run. And I get onto: I’m a woman and a mama. When I think about the best parts of working from home as the status of women, a lot of what “re coming” knowledge is mom nonsense. But we need to be sure that we don’t liken “working women” with “working moms.” Most of the parental benefits of operating remotely benefit both mamas and papas: things like getting more time with babies every day( no travel) and more flexibility to be involved with kids’ lives.

Another benefit for all parents who were responsible remotely is the freedom to reach non-public choices about their children. But, of course, there’s one that’s specific to women: breastfeeding.

I had my first kid while working in an office full-time. I are choosing to breastfeed, so I had to walk through an open office 3 times per day with my pump pouch and ask my boss to leave so I could run in its term of office, the one area with colours I could pull down. Pump handbags looks a lot like regular handbags, so parties would perpetually query, “Where are you thoughts? ” which was…awkward.

I had my second boy 6 months ago, while working at Zapier. As a remote craftsman, I can shoot without it being a public display of my own personal decisions every time I get it on. None of my coworkers need to know whether or not I breastfeed, let alone exactly when I’m about to go pump 15 paws from where they’re working.

Removing the bias of physical stature

When I asked for revelations in our #fun-women direct at Zapier, our material decorator, Lina Koh, commented on something that she imagined might just be her personal experience 😛 TAGEND

this is a very specific upside, and may only be my personal, anecdotal experience: remote work levels the playing field physically. i've been in work situations in the past where there were taller, larger folks who boomed louder during meetings and made me feel less inclined to speak up. in asynchronous communication, this is a lot less of an issue. even in :zoom: calls, we all look (relatively) the same size (one of the most interesting things at retreats is seeing how tall some folks are!). it's an interesting way to subvert some of these unconscious effects of an in-person work environment.

But it turns out it’s not just Lina. While researchers are yet to land on exactly why, numerou studies have shown that taller people are generally favored in work environments: they perform more fund, comprised more lead characters, and even feel more confident about their work.

And yes, there are plenty of tall women out there, but the average height of men in the U.S.( 5’9″) is almost half a hoof taller than the average height of women( simply under 5’4″ ). That means that a remote environment degrees the athletic field for one of the many examples of subconscious bias against many wives that exist in person.

Putting communication on equal footing

Studies dating back to the 1970 s and as recently as 2014 have shown that wives are more likely to be interrupted( by both men and women ). Zapier Customer Champion Nivedha Venkatesh aware of the fact that remote communication can help with that issue.

Using tools like Slack to voice your opinions publicly means that no one would shut me down before I complete my view point - I’ve been shot down many times in past companies for being a woman

Remote work, peculiarly when it’s asynchronous, leans heavily on the ability to communicate in writing. That intends fewer chances for being interrupted, at least in the traditional impression. Remote communication, in theory, grants everyone equal opportunity to express their ideas in full without being cut off.

Opening the chance for marginalized groups

In some occurrences, remote work is the only option for an individual. There are a whole slew of reasons why that might be, but Zapier Customer Champion Kaushi Bandara memorandum the benefits of remote work specific for marginalized women.

Upside: As 100% remote work becomes more common, it can even out the playing field for groups of people who have become marginalised and exploited due to life's circumstances. An example of this are military spouses who tend to be women in most circumstances. The trailing spouse is typically the caregiver and they have a much harder time finding jobs in a new city especially if its a short term move to a place where they don't speak the language. Also sketchy businesses such as MLMs largely prey on military spouses and exploit their isolation...imagine how awesome it would be if they had legit remote jobs.

The mere existence of remote duty lets armed spouses( who, as Kaushi points out, are 93% ladies) to find work. With a 24% unemployment rates for military spouses( compared to about 4% nationally ), an increase in remote work opportunities could make a huge difference.

This extends beyond armed spouses as well. Research overwhelmingly shows that heterosexual duets are more likely to relocate for a man’s job than the woman’s. While recent research advocates this is because of the types of jobs that mortals prefer, it still means that gals are more likely to be what’s known as the “trailing spouse.” Remote work allows these women to stay at the same job even when they relocate for their husband’s career.

Being a woman in remote task can be a struggle–especially with issues of visibility is worsened. But gals want to work remotely, and remote work offers advantages for women in the workplace, mitigates biases against them, and causes opportunities that are likely to not otherwise have.

Read more: zapier.com