The effects of COVID-19 on women’s work experiences and identity.

The purpose of this study is to explore working women’s response to the changes in their work-life balance practices as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on Weick’s (1995) sensemaking theory, this study focuses on the ways women experience work and make sense of changes to their identity in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using Tracy’s (2019) semi-structured interview structure, this study generates themes from working women’s reflection on their experiences during COVID-19 and pays particular attention to the ways in which the pandemic spurred identity negotiations or tensions. This study first reviews literature relevant to COVID-19 and its impact on organizational practices—namely literature on sensemaking theory, identity construction, and work-life balance practices. Second, the methods chapter will discuss the interview process and the thematic codes that were created during the post-data analyzation process. Finally, this paper will provide a discussion on how COVID-19 effected working women’s work experiences and identity formation processes.