Women Hit Hardest by COVID-19 Recession
âThe most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) monthly jobs data shows that the economy lost 20.5 million jobs between March and April 2020.1 These numbers, based on survey results from mid-April, are the first to capture the effects of an entire month of business closures across the country due to COVID-19. The COVID-19 crisis has laid bare the disastrous consequences of longstanding racial and gender inequities, and women have proven particularly vulnerable to the pandemicâs economic consequences.â
âWomen are overrepresented in the front-line workforce, making up the vast majority of workers risking their lives to provide health care, child care, and other essential services. Women are also far more likely than men to work in part-time, low-paid, and/or tipped jobs, meaning women were often struggling to make ends meet before the crisis hitâand faced a higher risk of losing their jobs as retail stores, restaurants, and other service sector businesses were forced to lay off workers or close their doors entirely.â
National Womenâs Law Center, May 2020:Â âAfter a Full Month of Business Closures, Women Were Hit Hardest By Aprilâs Job Losses,â by Claire Ewing-Nelson (4 pages, PDF)
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Situation Summary, Friday May 8, 2020
Institute for Womenâs Policy Research, May 2020: âHolding Up Half the Sky: Mothers as Workers, Primary Caregivers, & Breadwinners During COVID-19,â by Elyse Shaw, C. Nicole Mason, Valerie Lacarte, and Erika Jauregui (12 pages, PDF)
The New York Times, May 9, 2020:Â âFor the First Time in Decades, This Recession Is a âShecessionâ,â by Alisha Haridasani Gupta