25THE RISK REPORT BY IAN BREMMER
COVID-19’s
disruption
of Chinese
life will
get worse
before it
gets betterSOCIETY
RETHINKING THE
OFFICE FOR MOMSNobody wants to go back to the
ofi ce quite like white dudes. This
doesn’t mean all white dudes
are pushing this return—or that
everyone in this camp is white
or a dude—but just over 30% of
white men want to go back full
time, compared with around 22%
of women (Black and white) and
16% of Black men.
For working moms espe-
cially, remote work has brought
a new level of exibility and
self- determination. And studies
show exible work can increase
our sense of belonging—par-
ticularly for Black workers. But
for two years, the ofi ce advo-
cates have put us through the
same “When can we get back?”
conversation, ignoring the more
important one: Is there an
ofi ce that working moms would
be excited to go to? If so, why
aren’t men i ghting for it?
In a word: comfort. The
ofi ce was designed for men
who made the money while
their wives took care of their
home and family. Not only
was the temperature set low
to optimize for the warmth of
their suits, the standard of
“professionalism” was based
on white-male sociality. It’s
no wonder I felt relieved to
work remotely early in the
pandemic.
Still, with two kids at home,
I soon began to understand
the urge to go back—but not
to the ofi ce as we know it. We
need a new kind of workplace
built with moms in mind, one
that gives workers control
over their time, lets them
work from home as needed,
offers childcare support, and
addresses biases.
Reimagining the workplace
isn’t about the end of comfort.
If all goes well, for many, it will
be the beginning.
—Reshma Saujani,
author of Pay Up: The Future
of Women and Work (and Why
It’s Different Than You Think)