Debbie Wosskow, a British serial entrepreneur and co-founder of AllBright, the leading women’s career network, is urging women to shift their focus from productivity to visibility in the workplace. Speaking at the Women in Work summit in London, Wosskow criticized remote work as a “disaster waiting to happen for feminism,” emphasizing the importance of women maintaining their place and voices in the professional sphere. Research shows that while flexible working arrangements, including working from home, attract and retain female talent, men are not taking advantage of such opportunities as much as women. Wosskow believes that the lack of visibility and conversations around women’s experiences can further set back feminism in the world of work.
The impact of women removing themselves from the workplace should not be underestimated. Wosskow predicts that topics such as menopause, which already lack sufficient female professional voices, will become even more taboo. Additionally, she believes that working from home may directly affect women’s earnings, especially considering the ongoing issue of unequal pay. Moreover, when women work remotely, they often end up taking on unpaid labor and additional household and family tasks. In contrast, men in husband-and-wife couples have been found to do fewer household tasks when working from home. Wosskow suggests that the solution lies in flexibility with limits and encourages women to be intentional about how they use their office days to ensure visibility and advancement in their careers.
Debbie Wosskow is a highly accomplished entrepreneur and the co-founder of AllBright, which provides support and networking opportunities for women. Although she exited the business in 2022, Wosskow continues her dedication to promoting diversity, wellness, and economic empowerment through her latest venture, WJV LLP. Apart from her entrepreneurial pursuits, she serves as a senior advisor at McKinsey and sits on the Mayor of London’s Business Advisory Board. Wosskow’s stance on remote work stems from her experience and understanding as a working mother. While she acknowledges the need for flexible arrangements, she emphasizes the importance of women not removing themselves from physical spaces where important professional conversations and opportunities take place. In her view, hybrid working could strike a balance between work-life integration and preserving women’s career advancement, as long as women are intentional about their office days and maintaining visibility. Overall, Wosskow’s advocacy for women in the workplace underscores the need to address the potential setbacks that remote work could pose to feminism and gender equality.