Turning a “Shecession” Into a “Shecess”: How the Pandemic Has Paved the Way for #Girlbosses
By: Ella Busch
In the nearly two years since the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus, our society has come to accept new practices and routines as part of a ‘new normal.’ Mask-wearing is expected indoors, Covid tests are commonplace, and the ‘Zoom,’ is now both a verb and a noun. The American workforce has come to reflect the pandemic’s social implications, where a the closure of nonessential businesses, job loss and salary cuts, and the transition to a completely virtual work environment threatened the prevailing ‘live to work’ culture. At the peak of the pandemic in April 2020, 23 million Americans found themselves unemployed due to pandemic- related circumstances. In a phenomenon known as the “shecession,” it is estimated that four times as many women left the workforce during the pandemic than men. At the same time, female entrepreneurship is at an all-time high. In fact, thousands of women saw the pandemic as an opportunity, rather than an obstacle; a chance to tap into their creative sides and reenter the workforce as entrepreneurs.
The occurrence of the “shecession” can be chalked up to two factors. First, women make up disproportionate numbers of jobs in industries like education and retail, making them 19 percent more vulnerable to job loss than men during the pandemic. Women are also three times more likely to leave the workforce to take on childcare responsibilities than men; 3.5 million mothers either left, lost, or quit their jobs in the first weeks of the pandemic. This has resulted in the lowest levels of female participation in the labor force since 1988. Statistics like these are alarming to the future of women in the workforce, warning that “gender equity could be set back by a generation.”
At the same time, entrepreneurship is at an all-time high, particularly for women. In the last year, the US has seen 1.5 million new business applications, 49 percent of which were submitted by women. These figures represent a 27 percent increase in female entrepreneurship since the pandemic began, and even online female businessowner groups and communities on social media platforms like LinkedIn and FaceBook have seen massive growth
“The Women Business Owners Supporting Women Business Owners group on Facebook had about 1,000 members in November 2019; by August 2020, there were 15,000 and today, there are about 21,000. A Facebook group called The Female Entrepreneur Community also exploded in membership during the pandemic, from 880 members at the beginning of the year to nearly 45,000 by August,” wrote the LA Times.
Nicole de Fulgentiis and Danica Blaisdell took advantage of this intersection of the “shecession” and increase in female entrepreneurship by launchingH3R, a monthly magazine whose purpose is to interview female entrepreneurs. De Fulgentiis, the founder and creative director of H3R Magazine, had always dreamt of becoming a businesswoman, but given her tumultuous childhood, did not realize her dreams until pandemic-induced job loss forced her to reflect on her next steps in her career.
“I grew up really blessed; I went to private school, and my parents were well-off. After the 2008 recession, my father lost his job, and my parents divorced. My dad became an alcoholic and was essentially homeless. My mom had nowhere to live. This all happened when I was 14-15 years old, so I didn’t go to a normal high school. I worked several minimum wage jobs while everyone else focused on grades, I focused on how to feed myself.”
Upon receiving an online diploma in communications from Liberty University, de Fulgentiis went into freelance web design, e-course creation, marketing, and social media management. Like millions of other women, however, her career suffered with the pandemic.
“Once the pandemic hit, all five of my clients at once dropped me. I was forced to figure out what I wanted to do with the next chapter of my life,” she said.
When looking for inspiration, De Fulgentiis turned to the stories of successful female entrepreneurs and quickly realized that others, too, would benefit from hearing their stories. H3R - which aims to amplify women’s voices in male-dominated industries and create a network of businesswomen - is additionally unique in the sense that it is entirely female-run, completely digital, and made up of employees across four time zones.
The H3R business model is a direct product of the pandemic, which, according to de Fulgentiis, has made it more efficient as a whole: “I think Covid actually opened up H3R’s possibilities. Being online has enabled us to work from across the country, and I think that our team is happier because they can contribute from the comfort of home while maintaining their day-to-day routines.”
De Fulgentiis noted that this was a common sentiment among H3R’s interviewees. “I would say that, for a lot of the women that we have interviewed, COVID inspired them to pursue the businesses of their dreams. The pandemic gave them a lot of time to reflect on what they wanted to do with their lives and that there is no better time to start than now,” de Fulgentiis added.
Blaisdell, like De Fulgentiis, took an unconventional career path.
“I never went to college and am self-taught in the realms of marketing and public relations, where I have had the pleasure of working with many reputable companies across the fashion, beauty, hospitality, lifestyle, and automotive industries,” she said.
In June 2020, de Fulgentiis hired Blaisdell as the CMO & COO of H3R Magazine. Like de Fulgentiis’s, Blaisdell’s career switch was also prompted by the pandemic, which led her to the realization that she wanted to make a change in her life.
“I think that many people were forced to face their own mortality and make lifestyle changes that they were previously putting off, including myself. I have seen a lot of positive transitions among my colleagues and close friends throughout the pandemic; it has been amazing to see these women come into their own, quit careers that no longer served them, and create the lives that they have always wanted. There is no doubt that the business world was once a male dominated space. With that being said, I have observed intense transformation over the years and truly believe that there has never been a better moment in time to be a female entrepreneur.”
Abby Eernisse saw the pandemic lockdown as a call to action for social justice. Eernisse, who has worked in the field of anti-trafficking for the past seven years, saw concerning trends in online exploitation during the pandemic, with sites such as OnlyFans exploding in popularity amongst millennials. Eernisse and her nonprofit, The Abolitionist Collective,which serves as a community of anti-trafficking allies, sought to combat the monetization of sexual exploitation through educational online resources and survivor stories.
“I believe that shifting culture starts with telling stories… That’s what we do, we sit down for authentic conversations about the stigmas surrounding exploitation and the intersections of sexism, racism, poverty, and more in order to have real conversations about how to be the change that we want to see in the world,” she said.
Eernisse also noted that the pandemic forced her team to explore more creative avenues to reach a socially-distant audience, leading her to create a new facet of The Abolitionist Collective. The collective now incorporates a podcast highlighting stories of trafficking survivors and providing listeners with tips to keep themselves and others safe from exploitation.
Eernisse also spoke about her experience as a woman of color in the workplace. “The 8% of Black women who do have the privilege of having a college education still fall in varying spaces in the socioeconomic spectrum, and more than 70 percent of Black adults report experiencing day-to-day discrimination, such as being treated with less courtesy, respect, or as if they are not smart, as well as receiving poor services. For me, this has shown in my anti-trafficking nonprofit work, where I am often profiled as a survivor of trafficking rather than an ally. Being seen as an intern instead of a manager. Being paid less than less experienced colleagues and being denied job promotions.”
When asked about how businesses can better address discrimination moving forward, Eernisse said, “Having racist encounters is exhausting when you’re working in any space, but when you are immersed at the intersection of an industry that thrives off of racism, it can make microaggressions uniquely difficult to cope with. I'd love to see anti-trafficking non-profits commit to hiring a diverse staff and commit to training that goes beyond diversity, equity, and inclusion to anti-racism work.”
For Celeste Chen, working from home during the pandemic meant pursuing a ‘side hustle.’ Chen, a 2014 Georgetown graduate, turned to art while also teleworking for her job at the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. She revisited the skills she honed as a double-major in neuroscience and studio art at Georgetown in lockdown.
“The barrier of entry seemed so low! It was truly a mindset of you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Once the pandemic started, though, painting at home seemed almost...obligatory. Since I wasn’t going out, it felt like the only thing I could be doing with my time was painting,” she said.
Before the pandemic, Chen took commissions for oil paintings; during Covid, she experienced a creative rut, leading her to venture into digital art as a new medium. Today, she sells her art via Instagram, her art website, and by commission. Her work has been featured around DC, including at Georgetown neighborhood restaurants, including Baked and Wired, Christina’s Cafe, and Tryst. Her career at the Department of Commerce has even connected her to institutions such as the Smithsonian, which has featured her artwork at local events.
Art served as Chen’s reprieve from the uncertainty of the pandemic; today, she continues to receive commissions for her art and is working on a short story collection.
“Pandemic-wise, I think that, especially during the early days (and up until a vaccine was available), art wasn’t really on anyone’s minds. Work-wise, everyone was also a bit scatterbrained. What we went through wasn’t normal! We need to realize that and be kinder to ourselves. I feel lucky to be here, still working on my little creative projects, from the comfort of my apartment,” she said.
The pandemic reminded many– women and men– that life is short; women like Taylor Pircey embraced it as liberation from the routine 9-5 workplace and an opportunity to learn and grow new skill sets. Pircey is a self-taught photographer who began her business, Seeking Sun Photography, out of pandemic-induced boredom. After taking a course on the legal process of starting a business, Pircey began traveling and taking photos, started her own website, and registered her business.
“I have always been a “treasure seeker,” both in the people I meet and the places I go. This was a huge inspiration for creating Seeking Sun. My business actually started because of the pandemic - and it thrived,” she said.
Pircey noted that taking a business registration course online was much “quicker and more practical than anything a formal education could have taught me.” The freedom and flexibility of these courses have contributed to an overall boom in new business applications during the pandemic, as formal business educations are not a requirement for such applications.
“My goals for the immediate future of Seeking Sun are to release two more coffee table books, grow my work content, and my revenue. My long-term goals include traveling for projects, collaborations with other companies and creatives, actively giving back to my community, and, overall, helping to make this world a more beautiful place. I would love to turn my brand into a cozy storefront someday, which would reflect all of the things that inspire me,” said Pircey.
De Fulgentiis, Blaisdell, Eernisse, Chen, and Pircey are women of diverse identities, backgrounds, and life experiences, yet they all have one thing in common: they saw the pandemic as an avenue in which they could help, inspire, and create beauty for others through entrepreneurship. While the effects of the “shecession” are undoubtedly harmful - women losing their jobs is, on its own, troubling for gender equality - the “shecess” of the pandemic is equally real. Women are stepping up to become their own bosses and are breaking a “glass ceiling” of sorts, one in which they are no longer confined to the jobs they “should” have, and, instead, are pursuing the careers of their dreams.
“There is an abundance of opportunity, ripe for the taking, and I’m fully taking it. In my eyes, the world of business poses tremendous opportunities and challenges. Ultimately, it gets down to an individual’s perception and their willingness to work through the ups and downs,” Blaisdell said. □
Article Credits
By Ella Busch
