Working women hit harder by pandemic recession, research shows

By Meghan Holmes
Contributing Writer

Quarterly figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics illustrate that women in the United States have fared poorly economically during the pandemic, with an overall unemployment rate of 9.5 percent, compared to 3.9 percent at this time last year. Black women have been hit particularly hard, with an unemployment rate of 12.7 percent in the third quarter of 2020, compared to 5.4 percent last fall.

“The burdens of the downturn have not been evenly shared,” Jerome Powell said in an October 6 speech at the National Association for Business Economics’ annual meeting that was held virtually. “The initial job losses fell most heavily on lower-wage workers in service industries facing the public – job categories in which minorities and women are overrepresented. In August, employment of those in the bottom quartile of the wage distribution was still 21 percent below its February level, while it was only four percent lower for other workers. Combined with the disproportionate effects of COVID on communities of color, and the overwhelming burden of childcare during quarantine and distance learning, which has fallen mostly on women, the pandemic is further widening divides in wealth and economic mobility.”

In recent recessions, men have experienced greater rates of unemployment, but the pandemic recession is different. Northwestern University recently published a report titled, “This Time It’s Different: The Role of Women’s Employment During a Pandemic Recession,” arguing that “women have experienced sharp employment losses both because their employment is concentrated in heavily affected sectors such as restaurants, and due to increased childcare needs caused by school and daycare closures, preventing many women from working.

New Orleans resident and Uber driver Jasmine Russell agrees with the research.

“I’m a primary caregiver to two children whose daycare is closed right now,” Russell said. “I haven’t really been able to drive for Uber much during COVID as a single parent, and I’m not sure if I would feel safe if I could. For a while I was getting federal unemployment but now that’s over. I can’t afford to do anything other than stay home with my children with other options for child care being more than $1,000 a month.”

Northwestern’s study also found that the wage gap between men and women would likely be two percentage points wider after the pandemic recession, in contrast to past economic downturns when the wage gap has gotten smaller. This, combined with the reality that many service industry and other low-wage workers are already economically burdened, means it will be harder for women, especially women of color, to recover.

Some women who live in homes with dual incomes are temporarily leaving the workforce out of pandemic concerns.

“I feel bad for people who had to go back,” said Ida Zotz, a server at a Metairie restaurant prior to the pandemic. “I know I’m lucky that my husband makes enough money where I can stay home for a while. I’m fine wearing a mask to the store, but I didn’t want to wear one eight hours a day and still be worried about catching COVID. Some people have also been horrible to employees enforcing guidelines. I’d rather stay at home and spend less money until there’s a vaccine.”

For dual income families, the wage gap between women and men can also be a deciding factor in who will stay home with children. Statistically, women earn less and the family will take less of a financial hit if the man continues to work. That said, Northwestern researchers found that “in the long run, a pandemic recession ultimately reduces gender gaps in the labor market. Even though women do the majority of childcare, our model indicates that fathers too substantially increase the time they spend on childcare during a pandemic recession. Moreover, there is a rise in the number of married couples in which the husband is the primary childcare provider.”

For families with children where both parents are working through the pandemic, retired women have also stepped in to fill gaps in childcare. “I temporarily moved from Austin to Nashville to care for my granddaughter because both of her parents are working,” said Cindy Reynolds. “We know she needs socialization and other kids to play with, but we didn’t want her to be in daycare during the pandemic. It’s definitely been a learning curve raising a toddler after 30 years, but I’m also grateful to be in a position to help.”

Polling suggests that pandemic-related childcare issues have led to a significant rise in support for paid leave policies throughout the United States, with University of Maryland’s Program for Public Consultation’s finding that 74 percent of women were in favor of paid leave in late March, after the pandemic shutdowns began, as opposed to 64 percent earlier that month, before restrictions were in place.

This article originally published in the October 19, 2020 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.