There is no doubt that women have been striving to move up the “workforce ladder” and to gain recognition for their abilities outside of the home for decades. It was not until well into the 20th century that women began growing their place in the workforce, and it has not proved to be an easy battle for women since then.
The COVID-19 Pandemic that hit the United States in early 2020 left even more of a struggle for working women, particularly those that also had the job of being a mother. Due to the spread of COVID, many people lost their jobs overnight. Women tend to be overrepresented in low-income service jobs like hospitality and retail, and these were the jobs where employees suddenly found themselves unemployed. Additionally, schools and daycares closed during this time leaving mothers no choice but to stay home with their children. Not only were women not working during this time, but many of them were not even looking for jobs. According to the American Bar Association, “In February 2021, women’s labor force participation rate hit a low last seen in 1988, losing an entire generation of gains” (ABA).
Fortunately, the job stress of COVID seems to be far behind us as women are working 1.5 million more jobs in the United States than they were in 2020. However, the pandemic brought light to the lack of childcare and job protection that was available to women prior to 2020. Women have always been very vulnerable in their jobs, but they crumbled even more under the pressure of COVID.
It would be insensitive to claim that only women were faced with job insecurities during COVID, but one can see how drastic the employment disparity was between men and women during this time. According to a survey conducted by the National Women’s Law Center in February 2022, 42% of mothers reported that they could maintain their typical work hours during the pandemic when their children were not in school, while 58% of fathers reported they could maintain theirs per usual. For children under five, the results proved to be even more drastic: only 28% of mothers with children under five years old could maintain their typical work hours, compared to 54% of fathers.
How can we enforce public policy to support women in the workplace who are also caregivers? I believe that fair and predictable work schedules are something that every employee deserves. As mentioned before, a lot of the women that fell unemployed during the pandemic were those with low-income service jobs. These kinds of jobs are generally known for calling in their workers last minute, or publishing schedules with little to no notice. This is extremely unfair to working parents that are trying to organize their chaotic home lives. Not only can fair and predictable scheduling help, but public policies relating to paid family leave could be crucial in ensuring that mothers are not left to choose between their income and their family.
Thank you.
Citations
Jacobs, Elisabeth, and Kate Bahn . “Women’s History Month: U.S. Women’s Labor Force Participation.” Equitable Growth, 22 Mar. 2019, equitablegrowth.org/womens-history-month-u-s-womens-labor-force-participation/#:~:text=Gradually%2C%20beginning%20after%201890%20and,as%20a%20U%2Dshaped%20curve.
Martin, Emily J. “Women and the Workplace — What We Learned from COVID.” American Bar Association, 31 Oct. 2023, www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/labor-and-employment-rights/women-and-the-workplace/#:~:text=The%20job%20loss%20that%20flowed,in%20the%20wake%20of%20COVID.
Although both men and women were impacted during the pandemic, I think in a way there is more pressure put on women, especially single mothers. A single mother trying to balance raising her children, working enough hours to maintain a place to live, and buying/ cooking meals for her family is a lot for one person to handle, especially during COVID-19 where many workplaces were extremely unreliable.
I really like how you approached this topic. As you said, the problem was always apparent but Covid really brought that to life. It is so beneficial to have an organized schedule to plan out things especially because its needed in order to arrange childcare, chores, work and other things that many mothers are tasked with doing.
I really like how you attack this topic about women in the pandemic. I agree what you are saying with women especially as someone who it was only my mom and I it was especially hard for her with COVID effect her life and still really till this day. Overall this was a nice piece to read about women’s work during COVID.