April 7, 2022
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Two Years In, NWLC Releases Sobering Study on Women’s Employment

 

While the disastrous recession that accompanied the first wave of global lockdowns has receded, women’s employment in the US remains in a dire place, according to a new study by the National Women’s Law Center. The full study can be accessed through the link, but we wanted to highlight some of the findings.

  • In 2022 there were 1.1 million fewer women in the labor force when compared to February 2020. Meanwhile, male labor force participation has returned to pre-pandemic levels.
  • While 78% of fathers who were laid off or quit have found new employment, only 41% of mothers have done so.
  • Almost 40% of women indicated that their family financial situation was worse off than it was pre-pandemic.
  • Covid-19 has had a negative impact on the mental health of 58% of women respondents.

As we have highlighted before, the pandemic had an outsize effect on the stability of women in the workforce, sometimes being dubbed the world’s first she-cession. Women tend to be overrepresented in sectors that saw some of the steepest employment declines and which continue to be hampered by outbreaks. The NWLC study demonstrates that this problem is not going away.

Is the Third Stimulus the Beginning of a Guaranteed Family Income?

March 11, 2021
Gender Discrimination
Tucked into 2021’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package is a provision that could have life-changing effects for families with children: an expansion and reworking of the child tax credit. Championed solo for nearly two decades by Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the idea to expand the child tax credit has gained a new lease on life and more admirers as the pandemic and lockdowns have had a deleterious impact on families and children.

“She-cession” Global, Not Local

March 10, 2021
Gender Discrimination
Whether it is increasing the number of hours spent working, picking up the slack in domestic life, being forced to quit to take care of children or other family, or leaving the job market entirely, women in the US have taken the brunt of the pandemic’s resulting economic crisis, so much so that it has been dubbed the first “she-cession.” The Financial Times has released a survey demonstrating that this is an issue for women internationally, not just in the United States.

Alex Berke Quoted in New York Times Article on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

March 5, 2021
Pregnancy Discrimination
The pandemic may be creating a path for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which was first introduced in 2012 to become law. This law will help clarify and define the rights of women to receive accommodations in the workplace.

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