Virtual schooling has largely forced moms, not dads, to quit work. Will hurt the economy for years.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Road to Recovery

Virtual schooling has largely forced moms, not dads, to quit work. It will hurt the economy for years.

More than 2 million women had dropped out of the labor force as of October. The percent of American women working is the lowest since 1988.

By Heather Long
November 6, 2020 at 2:31 p.m. EST

In late October, Courtney Allen got the call she had been waiting for: A school district asked if she could come back as a substitute teacher. Allen desperately needed the money as she was getting only $125 a week in unemployment benefits. But she had to turn down the job. ... Her kindergartner and first-grade sons are still at home all day, learning virtually. Allen is part of a wave of women having to make difficult decisions that will affect family finances, as well as the broader U.S. economy, for years to come.

The pandemic recession has been dubbed a “she-session” because it has hurt women far worse than men. The share of women working or looking for work has fallen to the lowest level since 1988, wiping out decades of hard-fought gains in the workplace.

On Friday, the Labor Department’s jobs report showed that the economy has gained back just over half of the jobs lost in March and April, but the situation remains dire for women. There are 2.2 million fewer women working or looking for work now than in January, vs. 1.5 million fewer men, according to the Labor Department data.

Put another way, women have recovered only about 39 percent of the big drop in the labor force they suffered in the spring, while men have recovered 58 percent of their jobs. Much of the difference in these diverging fortunes for men and women boils down to moms having to stop working to take care of kids.

{snip}

Heather Long
Heather Long is an economics correspondent. Before joining The Washington Post, she was a senior economics reporter at CNN and a columnist and deputy editor at the Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa. She also worked at an investment firm in London. Follow https://twitter.com/byHeatherLong

[redstatebluegirl]

1. The sad thing is his macho base will love having their women under their thumbs again.

It has been their wet dream forever.

[CrispyQ]

2. I read a similar article yesterday.

The title was something like, "Other countries have social safety programs; the US has women." It was heartbreaking.

on edit: I found it. It was actually an interview.

Other countries have social safety nets; the US has women.

https://annehelen.substack.com/p/other-countries-have-social-safety

snip...

For the newsletter this week, I’m talking with sociologist Jessica Calarco about her recent research on mothers grappling with parenting, partners, anxiety, work, and feelings of failure during the pandemic. She’s whipsmart, as you’ll see below, and I love what she has to say about the work of sociology as a form of “ungaslighting.” Follow her on Twitter here — and if you have thoughts, praise, or questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments. [Academics don’t get a lot of explicit praise, in particular, just saying]

She discusses how the pandemic has affected women, not just their jobs, but their home life & their relationships with their spouses and kids.