Full Citation
Title: Understanding the Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Women
Citation Type: Miscellaneous
Publication Year: 2022
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Abstract: The impacts of the pandemic on the employment, labor supply, and caregiving of women are assessed. Compared with previous recessions, the one induced by COVID-19 impacted women’s employment and labor force participation somewhat more relative to men and thus deserves the moniker “she-cession.” But the big divide is less between men and women and more between the more-educated and the lesseducated. Contrary to many accounts, women did not exit the labor force in large numbers, and they did not greatly decrease their hours of work. The aggregate female labor force participation rate did not plummet during the pandemic recession. The ability to balance caregiving and work differed greatly by education, occupation, and race. The more educated could work from home. Those who began the period employed in various in-person “service” occupations and establishments experienced large reductions in employment. Black women were severely impacted beyond other factors considered and the health impact of COVID-19 is a probable reason. The estimation of the pandemic’s impact depends, in part, on the counterfactual used and whether one differences from winter 2020 or from each month in a year prior to 2019. All estimates, however, demonstrate that women in each education group have borne the brunt of increased caregiving even as they managed to hold on to their jobs. The real story of women during the pandemic is that they remained in the labor force and stayed on their jobs, as much as they could.
Url: https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/SP22_BPEA_Goldin_conf-draft.pdf
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Authors: Goldin, Claudia
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Data Collections: IPUMS CPS
Topics: Gender, Health, Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Poverty and Welfare
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