7 Ways to Save Your Working Moms Before It's Too Late The workforce has lost over 2 million women since the pandemic began Leaders can set the tone for working moms with these seven things The pandemic changed everything. And while the future of the traditional "8-to-5 workplace schedule" is uncertain, there are both positives and negatives regarding the new approach to getting work done. One of those negatives is that the workforce is currently down 500,000 more women than men compared with before the pandemic began. Bureau of Labor Statistics' data have consistently shown that the labor force participation rate has shrunk more among U.S. women than men, translating into 2.3 million fewer women and 1.8 million fewer men in the workforce in February than were there a year ago.