More Working Moms Push to Work For Themselves

As COVID upended domestic life, women’s rate of self-employment rose faster than the share of men in the sector.

According to Crain’s Chicago Business, the share of women who work for themselves has been trending upwards for the last decade, and experts say the pandemic accelerated the shift for working parents who were disproportionately shouldering child care and home responsibilities. The percentage of women who reported being self-employed rose faster during the pandemic than the rate for men.

“In the absence of a really supportive private sector for work-family balance, I think women are finally realizing that self-employment is that alternative,” says Milli, who founded Research 2 Impact, a consulting firm specializing in economic and social policy issues disproportionately impacting women and people of color.

Read on to learn how more working moms, to find balance amid a pandemic, are pushing to work for themselves.  It’s an escape from the regular 9-5 job and allowing women to control their destiny.