The COVID Crisis Pushed Women Out of the Workforce. Here’s the How the American Rescue Plan Will Help Them Come Back.

“Our economy cannot fully recover unless women can participate fully.” Vice President Kamala Harris speaking on a video call about the scores of women leaving the workforce because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated so many of the issues and concerns women think about every day: from affordable child care and health care access, to putting food on the table and pushing for an equal paycheck, let alone equal rights.

And not long after the life-saving lockdowns began and schools started to close, a troubling trend emerged. Millions of women — especially women of color — were laid off or forced to make the impossible choice between their careers and their families. Industries where women were most likely to work — like restaurants and other retail, hospitality and health care — have suffered some of the largest job losses.

Even more than a year into the crisis, women have exited the workforce at a higher rate than men, threatening to erase the progress we’ve made over generations and widen the gender pay gap for generations to come. In fact, there are now 4.2 million fewer women working than there were in February 2020 before the pandemic hit. Women help power our economy and if they can’t re-enter the workforce, our nation’s entire economic recovery from the COVID-19 crises is at stake.

Job Losses Have Been Devastating for Women, But They’re Not Being Felt Equally

While these job losses have been devastating for women, the pain is not being felt equally. The COVID-19 health and economic crises have exacerbated underlying inequities, exposing women of color to greater to risks and disproportionate impacts.

According to data from the March 2021 Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Situation Report:

· White women lost 5.6 percent of the jobs that existed before the COVID-19 crisis

· But for Latinx women 8 percent of jobs are gone.

· And for Black women 8.8 percent of jobs are gone.

A closer look at the unemployment rate also reveals stark inequities. Black women experience an unemployment rate nearly twice as high as that for white women, at 8.9 percent compared to 5.2 percent. Latinx women suffer a similarly higher unemployment rate of 8.5 percent.

While these job losses are certainly troubling, it’s even more complicated for mothers trying to stay in the workforce.

The Reality for Mothers in the Workforce

For mothers trying to balance the demands of their job and child care, the numbers are even more stark. In the wake of the pandemic and economic fallout, mothers are more likely to have left the labor force than fathers, especially if they have young children.

Mothers with young children experienced reduced work hours at rates four to five times that of fathers with young children.

These trends were even worse for mothers without a college-education, largely because of reduced teleworking opportunities and a lack of safe, available child care.

The pandemic has made it extremely hard for child care facilities to keep their doors open, with some estimates that by this summer up to 4.5 million child care slots could be lost permanently.

A multi colored line graph showing that Black and Latinx women experience unemployment rates almost twice as high as white women.

For women trying to juggle child care responsibilities and the demands of their job, many have been left with no choice but to drop out of the labor force and stop looking for work altogether.

Women are Left with No Choice but to Drop Out of the Workforce

Now, women’s labor force participation rates have hit a 33-year low.

A line graph showing that women’s labor force participation rates have not fallen to levels seen since the 1980s.

Without action, the ramifications of the pandemic’s devastating impact on women’s labor force participation could be felt for generations.

Compared to 2019 pre-pandemic projections, nearly 2.8 million women are missing from the workforce. Some of these women may never come back to work, which represents years of lost income and economic support for families.

A line graph showing how many women are now missing from the labor force because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Again, these trends are not felt equally among racial groups. When it comes to labor force participation, it has fallen from peak approximately:

· 3 percent for white women,

· 5 percent for Latinx women.

· 6 percent for Black women

Here’s How the American Rescue Plan Will Help

As dire as the situation is for women in the workforce, help is finally here: The American Rescue Plan.

Signed by President Biden earlier this month, this legislation provides the economic relief needed to support women, their families, and their communities.

Here are some of the highlights:

· Delivers $1,400 Economic Impact Payments (EIP) to approximately 85% of Americans, including children. A single mom with two children making under $75k receives $4,200 through the rescue plan.

· Increases the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child, $3,600 for a child under age 6, and make 17-year-olds qualifying children for the year. This means a typical family of four with two young children will receive an additional $3,200 in assistance to help cover costs associated with raising children — benefiting 66 million kids.

· Increases the Earned Income Tax Credit for 17 million workers by as much as $1,000, benefiting many cashiers, food preparers and servers, and home health aides — frontline workers who have helped their communities get through the crisis.

· Expands child care assistance, helping hard-hit child care providers — who are disproportionately women of color — cover their costs. It also will increase tax credits to help cover the cost of childcare — the single biggest investment in child care since World War II.

The bold, forward-thinking relief in the American Rescue Plan — along with legislation like the Paycheck Fairness Act — will help reverse the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on women’s economic security, protect decades of progress on gender equity by shrinking the gender pay gap, and empower women to safely re-enter the workforce by providing critical support.

Women’s History Month might be coming to an end, but House Democrats will continue to advance policies that help close gender and racial equity gaps and ensure all women have a fair shot to succeed.