COVID 19 and Recovery Response
In these unprecedented times, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) is committed to communicating and addressing the challenges women are facing. IWPR’s new research outlines how policymakers can address the immediate and long term needs of women, their families, and their communities in policy responses to the pandemic.
“I felt guilt making this decision to step out of the workplace”
Establish a National Child Care Infrastructure Like many working mothers, Nancy, a public affairs professional in Arlington, Virginia, left the workplace where she had spent almost 15 years in order to take care of her two-month old son when the pandemic took away her child care options. She expressed a sense of guilt in an interview with WBUR: “[M]y mother, she dedicated her life to raising me and my siblings. And while I think we are as successful today because [...]
“That’s what keeps me going—the hope”
When she was laid off in mid-March from a job she had held for decades, a hotel employee in Rhode Island felt abandoned by her employer. As she told WBUR, she felt that they did not care that, “I have a family that rely on me. It's not like that you are only telling me when something happened to me, you're telling everybody who depend on me.” Ideally, assistance and support should be widely available to individuals and families in [...]
C. Nicole Mason Talks a Gender-Equitable Recovery
Video Q&A About a Gender-Equitable Recovery
A Sneak Peek at Our New Economic Recovery Report
I do believe that as parents continue to go back to work, we are going to remain open. I don’t see child care becoming a declining business. Some parents that are able to stay home with their children will probably do so. I would probably do so if I were in their position also. But there are, unfortunately, parents that have no other choice but to work and place their child back in care. -Tenille, a child care provider Since [...]
Perspective: Child Care Work During the Pandemic
How are child care centers managing during the pandemic? How are centers keeping doors open, paying staff, and meeting the competing demands for increased hygiene and increased class sizes? IWPR spoke with Tenille, a child care provider, to learn more about how care centers are surviving the child care crisis. Here is an excerpt of our interview: IWPR: How long have you been in the child care industry? Tenille: I have been a family child care provider for four and [...]
Despite modest employment gains, women still 5.5 million jobs below pre-pandemic level. Unemployment for Black and Hispanic women remains high.
New October jobs data show women remain 5.5 million jobs below February's levels. Despite women gaining 280,000 (43.9 percent) of 638,000 new non-farm payroll jobs since October and adult women having lower unemployment rates (6.5 percent) than men (6.7 percent) for the first time since April, stubborn trends continue.