COVID-19 At an unprecedented pace, driving women out of the workplace
- Owing to the pandemic, more women are leaving the workforce than men, data reveals.
- Women are more likely to function in places affected by the pandemic more seriously, and carry on the brunt of child care.
- If Congress doesn't take action on a relief package, the effect could last a decade.
Ever since she began babysitting at 12 years old, Donna, 61, has been working. In September, due to COVID-19, she left the workforce for the first time. She has a form of leukemia that makes her immunocompromised, and while she enjoyed her work as an executive chef at a small inn in Milton, Delaware, during the pandemic, she felt she was unable to do it safely.
"I intend to survive this pandemic, and the only way I'm going to be able to do that is to extremely minimize my contact with other people," she says.
Donna, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is one of the 617,000 women who dropped out of the U.S. workforce in September. The figure, at 78,000, is almost eight times greater than the number of men who dropped out.
Heidi Shierholz, senior economist and policy analyst at the Economic Policy Institute, says that data from one month does not show a pattern that will continue, but it does show that the involvement of women in the labor force is not bouncing back, which, she says, "just spells years of ongoing pain," "The cumulative effect of the gender wage gap[and] of the gender job gap is only going to be a huge setback."
Why women are hit harder by joblessness
In September, the unemployment rate was marginally higher for women than for men, at 8 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively. Men have experienced higher jobs in past recessions because, according to a study from the National Bureau of Economic Research, male-dominated sectors such as construction and manufacturing were more affected. But the service and hospitality sectors, which employ a larger percentage of women, were among those most hurt by the pandemic.
A 28-year-old living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Sarah claims she was laid off in September from her position as a receptionist for a luxury apartment building. She was diagnosed with Lyme disease in July and became immunocompromised when, in August, she started treatment for it. She says, "I asked for accommodations and they would not give them to me," "I was concerned about COVID, because a lot of the residents in that building did not take the pandemic seriously."
28-year-old Sarah, Minneapolis, Minnesota
There are so many of these tiny firms, women-run businesses that rely on personal interactions.
— 28-year-old Sarah, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Her employers allowed her to take unpaid medical leave, which she was preparing to return from at the end of September after completing treatment. But a couple of weeks into her leave, she was told that the role had been removed. She's now dependent on her husband's salary, but due to the pandemic he took a pay cut, and she's getting $329 a week unemployment.
Before she was a receptionist, she cleaned houses, so when the pandemic hit, she thought, '"Oh my God, what would I have done if I was still housecleaning?'" she says. "There are so many of these tiny firms, women-run businesses that rely on personal interactions."
How to Deal with the Stress of Coronavirus Joblessness
The Child Care Gendered Responsibility
Women shouldered much of the burden of https://teachmixer.com/coloring-pages/home-coloring-page-30201/ home and child care even prior to the pandemic. Millennial mothers in heterosexual relationships are almost three times as likely as men not to work during the pandemic because of child care needs, according to an analysis of Census Bureau data from July.
Abby, a 35-year-old mom living in Raleigh, North Carolina, had just begun a new job at the pharmaceutical services company where she had been working for more than a year when the pandemic struck. She says, "I was really, really excited about it," "It was like a great career turn, and my first day in that new role was March 16th."
She worked from home for about two weeks with her partner, who works in technology, while her daughter did virtual preschool classes. "One of us would get up at like 4 in the morning to work and then we'd switch off throughout the day and then we'd be working until 10 at night and we were exhausted and miserable," she says.
Raleigh, Abby, 35, North Carolina
I have deep feelings about my leaving workplace politics... I wake up for a couple of days and I'm like, 'I feel like I'm setting women back.
— Raleigh, Abby, 35, North Carolina
Her husband was offered a position with a new business after two weeks, and the "numbers worked out" so that she could quit her job. "On the one hand, I'm bummed, but at the same time... I never am like, 'Oh, I wish I was still working,' because this situation makes it impossible to do both," Abby says. She cited an article titled, "In the Covid-19 Economy, You Can Have a Kid or a Job. You Can't Have Both."
"I really think that that feels very, very true to me," she says. "I have deep feelings about my leaving workplace politics... I wake up for a couple of days and I'm like, 'I feel like I'm setting women back.' But then at the same time, I'm aware that one of the reasons that so many women are leaving the workforce is because of the wage gap. And if someone's got to leave, it made sense in our lives for the person who was making less to leave."
The Impacts Can Last a Decade
Shierholz says the lack of Congressional COVID relief means that the economic consequences of the pandemic will persist for a decade. "With the lack of congressional action, it's likely that we're going to have persistently high unemployment for many years," Shierholz says. "It's going to have lasting effects on both men and women... so that just means it'll also have lasting effects on the gaps between men and women."
Heidi Shierholz, Senior Economist at the Institute of Economic Policy
The cumulative effect of the gender wage gap[and] of the gender job gap is only going to be a huge setback.
— Heidi Shierholz, Senior Economist at the Institute of Economic Policy
Shierholz also noted it that is not a choice for all women, even as more women have left the workforce. "It completely denies this reality that poor women face who are disproportionately Black and Brown women," she says. "It doesn't matter how much they want to stay home to help their kids, they have no choice but to stay in the labor force."
At some time in the future, Donna, Abby, and Sarah all expect to start working again. In the expectation that it will translate to a remote career, Sarah is studying graphic design. Donna is waiting for a job that, when the pandemic improves, will give her a stable transition back into the workforce. Eventually, Abby will also get a job, but she admits she will only work part-time.
"I recognize there's a ton of privilege in that,"I recognize there is a ton of privilege in that. "But I know that even if I wanted to jump right back in, I know I would not be jumping in where I was. I would not be earning what I was."
What it means to you
The pandemic may have lasting effects on the earning ability of females. Some women who have been laid off are now unable to find jobs, and most of those who are still employed are unable to work from home, placing them at an elevated risk of catching the virus.
A package of coronavirus relief will help to alleviate the virus' economic consequences. Consider calling and asking your state representatives to support a relief plan that would stabilize the economy and reduce the unjust effect of the pandemic on women.
How to Handle Your Anxiety While Coronavirus Financially Straps You
- Women are more likely to function in places affected by the pandemic more seriously, and carry on the brunt of child care.
- If Congress doesn't take action on a relief package, the effect could last a decade.
Ever since she began babysitting at 12 years old, Donna, 61, has been working. In September, due to COVID-19, she left the workforce for the first time. She has a form of leukemia that makes her immunocompromised, and while she enjoyed her work as an executive chef at a small inn in Milton, Delaware, during the pandemic, she felt she was unable to do it safely.
"I intend to survive this pandemic, and the only way I'm going to be able to do that is to extremely minimize my contact with other people," she says.
Donna, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is one of the 617,000 women who dropped out of the U.S. workforce in September. The figure, at 78,000, is almost eight times greater than the number of men who dropped out.
Heidi Shierholz, senior economist and policy analyst at the Economic Policy Institute, says that data from one month does not show a pattern that will continue, but it does show that the involvement of women in the labor force is not bouncing back, which, she says, "just spells years of ongoing pain," "The cumulative effect of the gender wage gap[and] of the gender job gap is only going to be a huge setback."
Why women are hit harder by joblessness
In September, the unemployment rate was marginally higher for women than for men, at 8 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively. Men have experienced higher jobs in past recessions because, according to a study from the National Bureau of Economic Research, male-dominated sectors such as construction and manufacturing were more affected. But the service and hospitality sectors, which employ a larger percentage of women, were among those most hurt by the pandemic.
A 28-year-old living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Sarah claims she was laid off in September from her position as a receptionist for a luxury apartment building. She was diagnosed with Lyme disease in July and became immunocompromised when, in August, she started treatment for it. She says, "I asked for accommodations and they would not give them to me," "I was concerned about COVID, because a lot of the residents in that building did not take the pandemic seriously."
28-year-old Sarah, Minneapolis, Minnesota
There are so many of these tiny firms, women-run businesses that rely on personal interactions.
— 28-year-old Sarah, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Her employers allowed her to take unpaid medical leave, which she was preparing to return from at the end of September after completing treatment. But a couple of weeks into her leave, she was told that the role had been removed. She's now dependent on her husband's salary, but due to the pandemic he took a pay cut, and she's getting $329 a week unemployment.
Before she was a receptionist, she cleaned houses, so when the pandemic hit, she thought, '"Oh my God, what would I have done if I was still housecleaning?'" she says. "There are so many of these tiny firms, women-run businesses that rely on personal interactions."
How to Deal with the Stress of Coronavirus Joblessness
The Child Care Gendered Responsibility
Women shouldered much of the burden of https://teachmixer.com/coloring-pages/home-coloring-page-30201/ home and child care even prior to the pandemic. Millennial mothers in heterosexual relationships are almost three times as likely as men not to work during the pandemic because of child care needs, according to an analysis of Census Bureau data from July.
Abby, a 35-year-old mom living in Raleigh, North Carolina, had just begun a new job at the pharmaceutical services company where she had been working for more than a year when the pandemic struck. She says, "I was really, really excited about it," "It was like a great career turn, and my first day in that new role was March 16th."
She worked from home for about two weeks with her partner, who works in technology, while her daughter did virtual preschool classes. "One of us would get up at like 4 in the morning to work and then we'd switch off throughout the day and then we'd be working until 10 at night and we were exhausted and miserable," she says.
Raleigh, Abby, 35, North Carolina
I have deep feelings about my leaving workplace politics... I wake up for a couple of days and I'm like, 'I feel like I'm setting women back.
— Raleigh, Abby, 35, North Carolina
Her husband was offered a position with a new business after two weeks, and the "numbers worked out" so that she could quit her job. "On the one hand, I'm bummed, but at the same time... I never am like, 'Oh, I wish I was still working,' because this situation makes it impossible to do both," Abby says. She cited an article titled, "In the Covid-19 Economy, You Can Have a Kid or a Job. You Can't Have Both."
"I really think that that feels very, very true to me," she says. "I have deep feelings about my leaving workplace politics... I wake up for a couple of days and I'm like, 'I feel like I'm setting women back.' But then at the same time, I'm aware that one of the reasons that so many women are leaving the workforce is because of the wage gap. And if someone's got to leave, it made sense in our lives for the person who was making less to leave."
The Impacts Can Last a Decade
Shierholz says the lack of Congressional COVID relief means that the economic consequences of the pandemic will persist for a decade. "With the lack of congressional action, it's likely that we're going to have persistently high unemployment for many years," Shierholz says. "It's going to have lasting effects on both men and women... so that just means it'll also have lasting effects on the gaps between men and women."
Heidi Shierholz, Senior Economist at the Institute of Economic Policy
The cumulative effect of the gender wage gap[and] of the gender job gap is only going to be a huge setback.
— Heidi Shierholz, Senior Economist at the Institute of Economic Policy
Shierholz also noted it that is not a choice for all women, even as more women have left the workforce. "It completely denies this reality that poor women face who are disproportionately Black and Brown women," she says. "It doesn't matter how much they want to stay home to help their kids, they have no choice but to stay in the labor force."
At some time in the future, Donna, Abby, and Sarah all expect to start working again. In the expectation that it will translate to a remote career, Sarah is studying graphic design. Donna is waiting for a job that, when the pandemic improves, will give her a stable transition back into the workforce. Eventually, Abby will also get a job, but she admits she will only work part-time.
"I recognize there's a ton of privilege in that,"I recognize there is a ton of privilege in that. "But I know that even if I wanted to jump right back in, I know I would not be jumping in where I was. I would not be earning what I was."
What it means to you
The pandemic may have lasting effects on the earning ability of females. Some women who have been laid off are now unable to find jobs, and most of those who are still employed are unable to work from home, placing them at an elevated risk of catching the virus.
A package of coronavirus relief will help to alleviate the virus' economic consequences. Consider calling and asking your state representatives to support a relief plan that would stabilize the economy and reduce the unjust effect of the pandemic on women.
How to Handle Your Anxiety While Coronavirus Financially Straps You
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