As many companies scale back remote work policies and push employees to return to the office, a clear gender divide is emerging. This trend has gained attention with moves like the recent mandate by Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, who told corporate employees they must be in the office four days a week or accept a buyout. While Niccol says the goal is to “build and strengthen our culture,” recent reporting suggests these return-to-office (RTO) efforts across the U.S. are having an uneven impact: more men are returning to the office than women, raising concerns about long-term career implications for women in the workforce.
A new Labor Department survey highlights this shift. In 2023, 34% of employed men reported spending at least some time working from home, but that fell to 29% in 2024, according to the Wall Street Journal. In contrast, for women, the share working from home remained steady at around 36% over both years. Although the gender gap in remote work has varied over time, data show it has been consistently wider since the COVID-19 pandemic than before.
Stanford economist Nicholas Bloom, who studies remote work, is especially worried about the consequences. He points out that if men are more likely to work on-site while women stay remote, women could find themselves at a disadvantage in terms of visibility and career progression. Bloom’s own survey of 5,000 U.S. working-age adults shows the gender gap in remote work has doubled since 2022 to about 3.3 percentage points, with women consistently expressing a stronger preference for working from home—about five percentage points higher than men over the past five years.
This pattern reflects how remote work has particularly benefited women, especially working mothers. As Harvard economist Claudia Goldin explained, remote work has allowed many women to stay in the workforce rather than taking extended leave after having children, helping them balance caregiving responsibilities without sacrificing their careers.
Some companies recognize this advantage and are deliberately choosing more flexible policies. Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser, for example, has preserved some of the hybrid arrangements that emerged during the pandemic, calling them a “competitive advantage” in an industry that has often been tough on working mothers. Her approach may help Citi attract and retain talent that might shy away from more rigid workplaces.
Yet despite these efforts, a broader shift toward rewarding in-office attendance is unmistakable. KPMG data cited by the Wall Street Journal show that 86% of surveyed CEOs said they plan to reward employees who come into the office with better opportunities and financial incentives. If women remain more likely to choose remote or hybrid options, they risk being less visible to leadership and losing out on these benefits.
This challenge is compounded by other trends, such as the rise of AI in the workplace. According to a U.N. report, women are overrepresented in entry-level jobs that experts say are more vulnerable to automation, putting them at up to three times greater risk of displacement by AI.
All of this is playing out against a politically charged backdrop. Efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have come under attack in recent years, with some political leaders seeking to roll back these initiatives, even labeling attempts to promote workplace equality as “illegal.”
If your company is considering changing its remote or hybrid work policies, it’s important to think carefully about unintended consequences. Be sure any new approach is equitable and does not unintentionally disadvantage women or other groups who may rely more on flexible work arrangements.