We’ve talked before about The Great Resignation, and how Covid changed everything. With the emotional baggage that came from lockdowns and all the challenges that came with Covid, people found themselves in a position where they no longer knew what they wanted to do for a living. Some people enjoyed working from home so much they didn’t want to go back to an office or worksite all day, every day. Others realised the job they were in was unfulfilling and they needed a change. This discussion was prevalent last year and then it petered out, giving the impression the upheaval was over.

However, NAB recently conducted a survey of over 1,200 working Australian’s and here’s what they found.

The facts

• Over 1 in 5 Australian’s changed jobs in the last year.
• Almost 1 in 4 are currently considering leaving their place of employment.
• Over 1 in 3 considering changing jobs said Covid has had a major impact on their decision.
• Around 3 in 10 are planning to move to a new role in a new industry.
• Some of the key reasons Australian’s are contemplating leaving their jobs include lack of personal fulfilment, purpose or meaning, lack of career grown, mental health, poor pay, and benefits.

Along with these statistics, are all the government benefits that have been rolled out this year to help both individuals and organisations. They include schemes to help upskill and reskill current employees, others to encourage older Australians to stay in or re-enter the workforce and then there are ones to support women.

Women in the workforce

We all know that the gender disparity in the workforce has been a source of contention for decades. However, we’ve come a long way since the argument began. The gender pay gap, although still a work in progress, has seen a significant decrease over the past decade. Meanwhile, according to the Australian Government, women now hold a record of 50.2% of government board positions.

With women in mind, the 2022-23 Budget is providing the following for women:

• Enhanced Paid Parental Leave of up to 20 weeks.
• $9.2 million investment to further support women into board positions and expand the Future Women’s Jobs Academy.
• $31 million investment in several other initiatives to help women into leadership positions in sport.
• $18.5 million provided to support the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.

This is amazing news for women! Along with the other schemes to help gain extra qualifications and skills, it’s the perfect opportunity for every woman to take a leap of faith.

Where your leap of faith can take you

While we’re talking about the differences between men and women in the workforce, let’s look at how our other differences can be used to our advantage. Now we’re not going to go down the road of women go to Mars to get more…well we’re not in primary school anymore! But it is undeniable that our brains – in general – work differently. Through the years studies have shown the following:

• Women’s brains favour more emotional activity, while men show more rational activity.
• Women gravitate towards multitasking, while men generally focus on one task at a time.
• Women tend to absorb more information through their senses and store more of it than men, therefore having more interest in the details.
• Women tend to exhibit better language skills than men, while men have better logic skills.

So, to condense it, women are generally great with emotions, multitasking, absorbing information and paying attention to detail, and expressing themselves. These are all abilities that make women perfect for the tech industry. With our ability to multitask and express ourselves, becoming a front-end or full-stack developer would be perfect! Absorbing information and paying attention to detail is perfect for data analysts, and all of the above would be nothing but beneficial in cyber security.

If you are a woman, whether you’re currently working or you’re a stay at home mum, now is your chance to step into the perfect career for YOU. Take advantage of all the government initiatives, use your innate and uniquely gifted abilities and find your passion in the tech industry.