The pandemic has accelerated vast changes in the workplace and exposed critical gaps employers and their employees face on a day-to-day basis. One of the top contenders? The challenges women face simply showing up to work.

More than 600,000 women left the U.S. workforce in September—that’s eight times more than the number of men. On top of that, one in four women is considering downshifting her career or leaving the workforce entirely.

Because the women who are leaving are significantly educated, it makes skilled positions harder to fill. Considering 40% of women in construction hold office or administration roles, companies and economists have reason to worry about the outflow of women from the workforce.

Understanding the adversities women in these roles face is the first step toward creating a workplace culture that fosters longevity.

Promoting flexibility to encourage women to stay

Women in construction are facing an enormous amount of stress. From managing children while maintaining a camera-ready presence to dealing with personal zoom fatigue while supervising children’s zoom fatigue, the stress is unprecedented. Not to mention, the pandemic is bearing an especially difficult burden on women who are adding brick-on-brick of responsibilities at work, yet generally making less money than the men surrounding them.

As leaders, understanding a day in the life of a working mother and helping them find the resources they need may seem like a trivial contribution, but it’s one that can have a significant impact. Company-offered backup care resources, wellness tools and Employee Assistance Programs are great considerations, but it’s important to remember these benefits hold no value if employees don’t know about them—making clear and consistent employee communication key. As remote work increases working hours, now is not the time to expect women to find resources alone.

Promoting work-life balance is also critical. Does that email really need to be sent at 7 p.m. or can it wait until morning? Are employees required to thoroughly time track every detail of their activity? Do they feel like trusted adults? In the era of working remote, employees are working together, apart. Making room for mental space can be difficult, but it’s an important movement to adopt.

By ensuring working mothers have the tools they need for success and managers who support them, the progression women have made toward equality in the workforce can be sustained.

Recognize unconscious bias as leaders

One can likely guess what an internet search of “construction employees” will bring up in results: depictions of hard-hat-clad men, asserting a not-so-realistic expectation of one of the industry’s key demographics—women.

While the number of men in construction far outweighs female counterparts, there were still 1.2 million women in construction in 2019, about 10% of the total construction workforce. And while societal perception of women in construction has notably improved, there is still a long way to go.

Amid a global pandemic, now is the time for leaders to evaluate their own unconscious biases.

Hiring a new candidate based off a good gut feeling is hiring a candidate based off unconscious bias. Selecting a man over an equally qualified woman in the construction field is selecting based off unconscious bias. Assuming all employees are equally impacted by the pandemic’s burden is an assumption based off unconscious bias.

Failing to recognize what Black employees have gone through this year—and the duration of their careers—is another example of how unconscious bias plays out. Fewer than one in three Black women feel supported by their manager. Having a diverse workforce is instrumental to business success, making it even more important to ensure Black women have the tools they need to thrive as their working white counterparts do.

Mandating a diversity training should become process—especially for anyone who is a people manager. But that’s not enough; a good leader will take the time to set up individual conversations. They will consciously be aware of their unconscious to understand the challenges and needs of Black women. By opening the door to hard conversations about race and understanding the different journeys employees have taken, a culture of honesty and inclusivity can increase trust and morale.

Take stake in employee well-being

Having a personal investment into the mental health of employees is a key attribute that separates leaders from managers. And while 2021 may not have presented itself with a clean slate from the pandemic’s devastation, the new way of working can still serve as a catalyst for cultural growth. Working better for women is working better for everyone.