As the general job market stumbles again, girls nonetheless battle to get well misplaced employment

More than a year after the pandemic hit the economy, the country now faces the question of how it will heal. The answer, according to several economists, lies in closing the gender inequality that has divided the country in two. However, on the return journey of the entire labor market, women are still lagging behind when it comes to regaining lost jobs.

“Between February and April 2020, 4.2 million women dropped out of the labor force, largely due to an unexpected burden of care. Almost 2 million have not yet returned,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Friday at a press conference at White House Employment Report April. “The challenge ahead is to help these 2 million women get back into the job market … to help the millions of other workers who left before the pandemic do the same.”

“Our policies failed to take into account that people’s work and personal lives are inextricably linked, and when one suffers, so does the other,” she said. “The pandemic made this very clear.”

The latest employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that of the 266,000 people who re-entered work in April, 161,000 were women.

The pandemic recession stands out from previous economic turmoil as it affects sectors that are more female to be employed, said Kathryn Edwards, an economist at RAND Corporation, a nonprofit think tank.

When states restricted personal work to the bare minimum, millions of women were unemployed. Women make up the majority of the workforce in the health sector, which has lost more than 540,000 jobs during the pandemic. The retail sector, in which around half of the workers are women, lost 400,000 jobs. The restaurant industry, where women make up half the workforce, ended 2020 with 2.5 million fewer jobs than before the pandemic, according to the National Restaurant Association.

“One of the things about this crisis is that it’s multilayered,” Kate Bahn, director of labor policy and economist at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, told NBC News. “Women are overrepresented in jobs with the highest risk [and] Most of the marginalized women have made use of childcare that is not regulated by public policy. it has just reached a crescendo. “

Women are more likely to take responsibility for home care, whether it’s children, in-laws, family members, or parents, said Kweilin Ellingrud, a senior partner at McKinsey and Company, a consultancy that focuses on research into gender equality. They are also more likely to shop and clean for the house. McKinsey found that about 40 percent of mothers, versus 20 percent of fathers last year, added 20 hours or more of housework per week, most of which included childcare and cooking.

In addition, pre-pandemic jobs that were more likely to be women – customer service, retail, sales – are becoming increasingly automated as consumers can shop and bank more conveniently online, she said. According to McKinsey, around 17 million workers in the US will have to switch entire jobs or change jobs within the profession over the next 10 years. About 80 percent of these jobs fall into female-dominated categories, including administrative support, customer service, sales, and catering.

“It’s been a double blow for women, making an impact on work at home and dramatically increasing the impact on certain occupations,” Ellingrud said.

President Joe Biden unveiled the American Families Plan last week, a proposal to start public schooling at age 3 – which could save families thousands of dollars a year on childcare – and the cost of caring for a family out of pocket on a slide limit frame. It would also mandate a 12-week paid family and sick leave scheme for caring for a child, sibling, or spouse.

“It’s important to remember that childcare has economic benefits and enables people to work,” said Edwards. “This is not a guideline that is a free gift or handout for mothers. This is an economic investment that our current situation requires. “

The US could be on the right track to see roughly $ 2.4 trillion in gross domestic production save without interventions to promote women’s employment, Ellingrud said. According to a study by Amanda Weinstein, an economics professor at Akron University, women across the board are raising wages for all workers.

Even with targeted support, female employment will not recover to pre-pandemic levels until 2024, a full 18 months after overall employment has recovered, according to McKinsey.

“How can an economy fight with one hand behind its back?” Said Ellingrud. “It’s difficult for the entire economy to grow at the same pace when half the population is women.”

Austin Mathouser worked in a bowling alley in San Jacinto, California, as a waiter and bartender before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. She was released in March 2020 after the venue was forced to contain the potential spread of the virus.

Mathouser, a 30-year-old single mother of three young children, found another job in customer service at a dropshipping company seven months later. When her youngest daughter was diagnosed with Covid-19, Mathouser’s employer didn’t offer medical leave and she said she had no choice but to step down to take care of her. She has since supported her family with $ 100 a week.

Her weekly unemployment check barely covers the cost of phone, gasoline, and insurance, much less childcare, she said.

“It’s a little frustrating and overwhelming,” she said. “With three kids and how expensive childcare is, I would just spend whatever I do on someone watching my kids.”

During his unemployment, Mathouser plays the role of mother and teacher.

“I try to make sure my fourth graders and first graders do what they’re supposed to do at different times,” she said. “It’s very frustrating, but we’re doing our best.”