Why so many women are stepping away from work — and what employers said on CNN

Quick snapshot: who spoke and why it mattered

Dr. Jessica Kriegel of Culture Partners appeared on CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown to discuss the rise of women leaving the workforce. The conversation focused on why women are exiting jobs now, how employers and workplaces are handling the change, and what the trend could mean for households and businesses. Kriegel framed the topic as a culture and policy issue rather than just an economic one, arguing that many employers still expect people to fit into old workplace norms. The segment brought the debate from research papers and boardrooms into millions of living rooms, making it clear this is a national conversation, not a niche employer concern.

What recent data and trends make this urgent

Over the past few years, labor statisticians and think tanks have reported shifts in women’s participation in the labor force. After a sharp drop early in the pandemic, participation recovered unevenly: some age groups and professions returned quickly, while others lagged. Childcare closures, rising care needs for older relatives, and burnout in high-pressure jobs have all been flagged as drivers. Surveys of working parents show higher levels of stress and a stronger desire for flexible hours or hybrid work than before the pandemic.

At the same time, employers report trouble filling roles in sectors that traditionally hired many women, such as healthcare, education, and retail. Wages have risen in some tight markets, but pay gains have not always kept pace with rising costs or with the opportunity costs of balancing work and care. Policy shifts — from temporary pandemic supports to more recent debates about childcare funding and paid leave — also shape decisions. The mix of economic pressure and shifting expectations about work-life balance helps explain why the issue keeps returning to the front pages.

Highlights from the on-air conversation

The interview moved between big-picture framing and concrete examples. Kriegel emphasized culture: workplaces that prize long hours and in-person presence still exist, and those expectations fall harder on women who take on more unpaid care work at home. The hosts pressed on what companies can do differently and how much of the trend is a choice versus a necessity for workers.

Kriegel pointed to companies that have updated job designs and schedules to better fit real lives, suggesting these firms show stronger retention. She noted that remote and hybrid options, when applied thoughtfully, can help but are not a silver bullet — firms also need clearer norms about availability, reasonable workloads, and fair career paths for people who use flexible options. Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown raised questions about whether individual firms can move fast enough and whether broader policy changes are needed to support families.

Why women are leaving — cultural and workplace drivers and how companies are reacting

The causes named on air were familiar: burnout, childcare gaps, rigid schedules, and workplace cultures that reward face time over results. Kriegel argued these are symptoms of a deeper mismatch between old job designs and the modern household. Employers have responded in a few ways. Some have expanded flexible scheduling, increased paid leave, or invested in backup care programs. Others have focused on smaller changes: clearer boundaries on after-hours contact, job-sharing, and rethinking promotions so they don’t penalize caregivers.

But change is uneven. Large tech and finance firms often publicize big benefits, while small businesses say they lack bandwidth and money to match them. Some employers report that offering flexibility reduces turnover and improves morale, but others worry that flexibility will hurt collaboration or make it harder to coach junior staff. Those tensions were part of the on-air debate: solutions exist, but they require trade-offs and honest conversations inside companies.

What to watch next — likely effects on workplaces and public debate

The immediate consequence will be more pressure on employers to adapt or face higher turnover and recruitment costs. Expect the debate to push beyond HR teams into public policy discussions about childcare funding, paid family leave, and workplace regulation. If employers adopt clearer, fairer ways to measure work and promotion, some women may return or stay. If not, we could see lasting shifts in certain professions’ demographics and in how households arrange paid work.

In short, the CNN segment made plain that this is not only a private choice for many women — it is a social and organizational problem asking for both policy responses and smarter workplace design. The next clues will come from hiring trends, company benefit rollouts, and how many employers make flexibility meaningful rather than symbolic.

Sources

• prnewswire.com