Lost wages for women: Diana Boesch and Shilpa Phadke on policies for a post-pandemic economic recovery

The economic impact of the pandemic, as shown in the unemployment rate, is staggering. Like previous pandemics, the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected women. In this February 1, 2021 report, researchers Diana Boesch and Shilpa Phadke explain the complex reasons why more women than men have become unemployed since March 2020. Boesch and Phadke argue that a truly equitable economic recovery must include major policy changes that address long-standing issues, such as the gender pay gap and the lack of caregiving support.

Diana Boesch and Shilpa Phadke, "When Women Lose All the Jobs: Essential Actions for a Gender-Equitable Recovery," Center for American Progress, 1 Feb. 2021

 

1. In the second paragraph, Boesch and Phadke quote Dr. C. Nicole Mason, who describes the current economic recession a “she-cession.” What does that term suggest? What evidence do Boesch and Phadke give to support the argument that women’s employment has been disproportionately affected by the conditions of the pandemic?
   
2. Boesch and Phadke argue that the government needs to pursue “bold, structural policy changes” to ensure a gender-equitable recovery, one that does not leave women and their families behind (par. 3). What are the three major policies
3. Look at Figure 2, which illustrates the unemployment rate by race or ethnicity for women ages 20 and over. What conclusions can you draw from this chart? What reasons do Boesch and Phadke give for why women of color have higher unemployment rates than white women? If you were to redesign this chart to include more data, such as comparison by age, educational attainment, or geographic location, which data would you want to include? Why?
4. This report outlines broad policy changes that could help the US “design a future that supports their work and caregiving” (par. 18). Read this op-ed by W. Brad Johnson and David G. Smith, who argue that men should take action as individuals to advocate for women in the workplace. What is one specific action they recommend that men do to help ensure a gender-equitable recovery after the pandemic? What approach do you think is better: big policy changes through the government, as proposed in Boesch and Phadke’s report, or smaller advocacy at an individual or company level, as argued in Johnson and Smith’s op-ed? Use a template from Chapter 4 to compose your response to this larger academic conversation.

Comments

[Kristin]

I had no idea it was this bad for women, especially women of color. I am a nurse and when my hours were cut in our clinic, I was able to get a job at our local nursing home. Not everyone has this opportunity. It is 2021 and we are still dealing with gender bias. I live in a rural town in Nebraska. So I have not seen how bad the gender bias actually is. It really is sickening that we are still dealing with this. Changes need to be made. I have a 40 hour plus a week job, I teach a night class one night a week and I clean our church weekly. Plus I have three children and a husband. We, as women, have A LOT on our plate.

[brianna]

reading this article on lost wages by woman was very heartbreaking on how by just being a woman we are being paid less for a job vs how much a man makes. making it noticed that the drop in unemployment in only the female gender has been staggering based on this article. this blog has opened my eyes on how this issue is stilling going on even in today's society in how much a woman is being paid then not getting the same equal pay as a man is getting. this really hit the most impact on woman when the covid-19 pandemic hit in going into 2020 to 2021, in march of 2020 trying to recover with lack of care giving by the fellow workers.

[Tamiya Granville]

Reading this article is really sad.The fact that women will not be geting paid there regular pay is upseting becuase women work really hard and they deserve there pay.But since the pandimic things have really changed.

[Ariana Watkins]

Reading this article opened my eyes to how inequality is really effecting women especially throughout the pandemic. They use the term "she-cession" to sum up how much this inequality has really set women and their families back, specifically women of color, hispanic, and asian women. With the pressures to keep up with child care, which is not adequately provided for in this country, and keep a job- many women are falling very short. The federal governments failure to act on these issues are only causing detrimental damage to these women's careers and the economy as a whole. We need big and bold changes to happen if we are ever going to bounce back from this recession, not to mention the systemic inequality we were dealing with to begin with. 

[Marilyn Gordon]

I agree with some of the things that Diana and Shilpa say, but I also don't agree with others. I do agree that the pandemic hit women hard, but everyone had a hard time during it. Covid took jobs away from many people, but may also have given people jobs. I ended up getting a job during covid, so I know that people were able to become employed in that time.

[Travius Whitfield]

I agree that the pandemic has affected people in the world with work, but it has been worse for women than it has been for men. Diana Boesch and Shilpa Phadke are right that since the pandemic started women have been more unemployed than men have been. This just goes to show that the world makes it seem that men are more superior than
women when we all are equal
Everyone should have the opportunity to be able to work not just men

[macayla a morris]

I read the article about lost wages for women. I learned from this article that the unemployment rate of women in America has significatly increased since march of 2020 when the covid 19 pandemic started.  I also  learned that there is a big pay gap between men employees and women employees that are doing the same work,  yet the men employees are payed more. This is an issue that has been around for decades women just recently received rigjhts in the last few decades. because before women were not aloud to work at all. we have come a long way since then but we are still facing 19th centry issues. I believe that this is very unfair and tat our society needs to chnag ethese issues. 

[Spencer Martin]

I have read this article and I can take away information such as women in Certain aspects of jobs don't get paid as much as men , and also since march 2020 theres been a big decline of employeed women , this can do a lot with stimulus checks and people not wanting to work over the pandemic in my opinion . As an overall situation I am a strong believer in equal rights so to see this it does bother me , but I notice a lot of the time in these types of scenarios they relate a top few percent of high income men snd relate its to women which is unfair because majority of men and women get paid the same depending per job they do.

[Wesley B Gilliam]

According to Boesch and Phadke, women (especially those of color) have already been struggling with financial responsibilities, but during the pandemic there has been a double blow of job loss of more females than male combined with the increased need for child care due to the closing of schools and childcare. Although I do not see gender inequality present in my current career path, I do know that it exists due to the statistics. I also agree that the increased need for childcare due to the pandemic usually falls upon the mothers although it should be equally shared with the fathers. Boesch and Phadke urges policymakers to fix our current systemic inequalities, modernize the workplace care and standards invest more funding into our current child care facilites. I agree that women should be recieving equal wages as men and the policymakers would ensure this. All people need to be able to have paid leave to care for family members and affordable quality child care.

[Madi G]

According to this article written by Boesch and Phadke, minority women have had more struggles with jobs and over the course of time than other women, but during the pandemic, it was much worse. More women lost jobs compared to men and they had no choice but to stay home and take care of their kids since schools and daycares were closed. It seems more so than not, that the caretaker of children fall on the moms shoulders. For single moms or single dads, the struggles are worse. When single parents are without a job, they have the stress of providing necessities for their family. Women in the workplace are as equally important as men. They should be equally paid if they are doing the same job and deserve the respect that men receive.

[Hunter]

According to the article written by Boesch and Phadke, women have lost a net of 5.4 million jobs during the course of this recession. This is nearly one million more jobs lost by women than by men, which prompts to the name "She-cession". It has been named this due to the disproportionate loss in jobs affecting more women than men. They also go on to say that this could have a very big affect on women's careers and even the U.S. economy. According to the article, women were already struggling with balancing work and care before the pandemic started, and now the problem is even worse. Due to the slow increase of wages, they also have struggled to make a living wage and it's only worse if they have children. With daycare centers closing, lots of single parents lost their jobs because they needed to take care of their children.

[fatemeh mohammadi]

I agree that this epidemic has affected the whole world, especially in the field of work, where many women have lost their jobs. politicians must guarantee women that they have equal rights with men. Also, the workplace should be suitable for women. If women are supported professionally, they can take better care of their children and families.

[AAryon mason]

I agree with some of the things that Diana and Shilpa say, but I also don't agree because everyone was hit by the pandemic including kids, but I do feel like women had it the worst because there are more women than lost their jobs. Single women with kids that lost their only way to provide for their children. This took a big impact on women's jobs because of what field it started in there are more women in the medical field than males according to the article, women had a balancing work and care problem before the pandemic, now the problem is worse than before. Women have lost jobs compared to men that left them no choice but to stay home in taking care of their children. The pandemic hit the single parents the most that had to depend on that job to eat in taking care of the children without that they will become stressed, some will enter depression in everything will just go bad. Some parents will take the easy way out feeling like the only option for their children to be in a stable home is to do something bad that will most likely put their kids in foster care.

[carlie]

I did not notice the it was worse for women but the surprised ether, we have always faced many issues when it comes to the work force and I do not understand why it is so hard for others to face change and fix it ether and all we can do is stand up for ourselves and get what we deserve.

[Kaley]

I agree with what they were saying but also disagree as well. Everyone was affected by the pandemic including children and men. Women were definitely affecting more than men. I think that women had it worse because they lost primary care for their children because schools and daycares closed down. Women started losing more jobs than men because they had to provide for their kids as well especially single mom. Out of all the people the pandemic affected it defiantly affected single parents in general the most. The single parents had to depend on their job to have enough money to eat and provide their children with everything that they would or might need. That causes those single parents to be very stressed.

[Eyerusalem]

Even though the pandemic have affected to every one it the world but women were the one that suffered a lot since their children have to stay home they should be responsible and can't leave their children alone at home.

[C.A.M.]

This article was about women who have been losing their jobs since the COVID-19 Pandemic, and it was very shocking to read. Since March of 2020, the pandemic has been a part of our daily lives, and now society has to adjust to a new normal. A new normal of wearing masks, social distancing, and working from home has become a new normal as well. In the article, Diana Boesch and Shilpa Phadke state that " women have lost a net of 5.4 million jobs during the recession--nearly 1 million more job losses than men." This was very shocking to see because I know many businesses have been forced to shut down their businesses and people have been laid off, but to see almost 6 million jobs of women lost it's devasting to see and to read about. Also, if you continue to read more in the article, it also tells you how women are not getting fair wages as men do. Furthermore, it also stated that also women had been struggling to manage work before the pandemic and that some women have been living in poverty. This was very shocking to read but at the same time not surprised because this has been an ongoing issue that still needs more awareness. Women are not paid the same wages as men, and sometimes men make way more than women, which is unacceptable. I agree with everything that Diana and Shilpa stated in this article, and they have made excellent points that shock you once you read them. This article has surprised me and has really opened my eyes about the workforce and how women should be treated better and make better wages than what they are currently receiving right now. Finally, this article was very interesting to read but at the same time very shocking because it's amazing that in 2021, women are still being paid and treated unequally.

[hailey]

Obviously, the pandemic was a hard time for all of us, but after reading this article, it is clear to me that women and single parents were the worst affected. Women's jobs suffered a lot due to the pandemic. Many women had no choice but to leave their jobs to care for their children at home. For single parents, it was way worse. Their jobs were the only way to support themselves and their children. Parents are under a lot of stress because of this. Women have been unemployed more than men during this pandemic and also paid less. It's sad to see we're still dealing with gender bias in the 21st century. The responsibility to take care of the child usually falls to the mother, which is not acceptable either.There should be paid leave for the mothers who lost their jobs to ensure there equality

[Nathaly Hernandez]

While I was reading this article, it had provided me insight on what the effect of the pandemic had caused women of color who were already suffering enough. Learning that the wage gap continues to effect women as they continue making 82% of what men's earnings are is devastating, and it is able to depict how women are continued to be mistreated by misogynistic policies and beliefs that stop them from earning enough in order to help support their own families, especially in this time of need. I agree with the argument being provided, because sexism continues to remain a huge problem that women, especially black and Hispanic women must go through in their daily lives. Since the pandemic started, women have only been receiving negative outcomes as they struggle to hold a job, or their salary is not enough to take a break and spend time with family through this crisis. Yet, as these women continue to struggle to put food on the table for their families, legislators and lawmakers have not stepped forward to provide any action plan that would help these women. I find it heartbreaking that even before the pandemic women had already been struggling with balancing home life and a job with no safety net provided by the government. It is not as if there is no possible way to give struggling women the financial support they need, there just hasn’t been a proposal from lawmakers to demonstrate they care about the lives and families that women have. There is an urgency to provide economic assistance to women of color that have suffered from the pandemic, and the government should not waste this opportunity to construct a stable policy that would provide fair pay in order for struggling women to receive financial benefits and protection.

[L. Buckner]

The facts that I have read within all the articles has given me a broader perspective on how our women, particularly our women of color, has been widely affected by the transition of Covid and prior. Learning that women were already struggling before the pandemic , and not really having a solution to cover the needs of bills, food and simply taking care of their families was devastating. As we are living in a new age, us women still get treated as though we're not equal to men although we perform the same jobs as them. The equal rights of knowing that a women can out perform a man is consider not normal, however it happens everyday. Society needs to reevaluate their standards of living and pay what is equally right. Society also needs to drop all prejudice judgement and live in today's presence. Color shouldn't be a factor, neither should gender.

[Parker]

After reading this article it made me realize how bad covid affected women. My sister had to quit her job during Covid because all the schools were shut down and there was no one to watch her kids. I couldn't imagine how many other women had to do the same thing especially for single mothers. Especially feel bad for women of color having to go to work despite risks to their health and safety even if they are sick because they provide vital financial support for their families. I agree that women should be recieving equal wages as men. I don't think a company should pay someone different because of their gender and I know a lot of companies do that and that's the worst thing.

[Samantha]

The evidence that Boesch and Phadke give to support the argument of women being disproportionately affected is simply the statistics speaking for themselves. Women lost a whole 1 million more in jobs since the start of the pandemic than males did. With women of color being hit with job losses more than anyone. The authors stated that the reason for this being because most of these women are the breadwinners and full-time caretakers of their children. When schools closed, they had to make the choice between working and hiring full-time childcare which is not cheap, or becoming full-time parent/teachers to children at home because of the pandemic. Boesch and Phadke stated three major policies that were needed in the long term and they were, creating an infrastructure that was equalized, which includes wages and benefits, and adding protections for the workplace.

[Andrew Knight]

In Boesche and Phadke's addressal of the inequality women face in the workplace, they provide evidence of the disproportionate affect the economic recession has had on women. Boesche and Phadke propose that we need major policy changes to better ensure the economic security of our people. I agree that we need to make actual policy changes to balance the inequality women face today. If I were to add anything to the chart shown in figure 2, I would like to see the geographical location. I believe geographical location and accessibility to good education would be interesting to see. Brad Johnson and David G. Smith propose men need to take action in the fight as well. One thing they suggest is for men to be more transparent at work about family responsibilities. I think this approach is great. I believe we should push for major policy changes as well as do everything day-to-day that we can to provoke change.

[Abriham Kifle]

I understood a lot from reading this article. I never knew the pandemic affected majority-colored women. I used to work in hospital during the pandemic, but I had to stop for the sake of my families, but my wife was a caregiver in a nursing house, and she had to keep working to fulfil the kid’s need and pay bills. Women naturally treated not equal as men, but they are the one who does everything in the house. Everyone needs to value her work, appreciate, and give her what she deserves. Especially colored women are not given the right they deserve. From this article I have learned that color should not matter, everyone has same red blood and we all are human beings. We all should respect and treat each other equally no matter their gender identity or color.

[Amelia Cartwright]

I understand this article. I would not say that the pandemic just affected colored women. The pandemic affects everyone. I have worked through the whole pandemic, yes it has been hard. But in the reality of things women have never nor will they ever be treated fairly by men. But what I will say is that men sometimes do not appreciate what women do for them explicitly colored women, which is not fair to the women. After reading this article I feel that everyone should be treated fairly, we all are god's children and we all bleed the same it's not like we bleed different colors because we don't. But I will say this that in the world we live in today everyone thinks that they are better than one another.