Women who work from home risk seeing their careers stall now that workers are returning to the office, according to Bank of England (BoE) economist Catherine Mann. BBC News has more.
She said office interaction was vital to advance in companies, but many women were still tied to home working.
Ms. Mann said it was a particular issue for mothers facing school disruptions and difficulty accessing childcare.
Earlier this year, Rishi Sunak warned about young people’s careers.
The Chancellor said he doubted his banking career would have been successful if he had started it in virtual meetings, and that being in the office helped build skills.
Ms Mann, a member of the BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee that sets interest rates, said online communication was unable to replicate the spontaneous office conversations that were important for recognition and advancement in many workplaces.
She told an event hosted by Financial News magazine: “Virtual platforms are way better than they were even five years ago. But the extemporaneous, spontaneity – those are hard to replicate in a virtual setting.”
Difficulty accessing childcare and pandemic-related disruption to schooling meant many women were continuing to work from home, while it had been easier for men to return to the office.
“There is the potential for two tracks”, she said. “There’s the people who are on the virtual track and people who are on a physical track. And I do worry that we will see those two tracks develop, and we will pretty much know who’s going to be on which track, unfortunately”, she said.
Ms Mann was an economics professor and chief economist at investment bank Citi and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, before joining the BoE in September.
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