Join us for IWPR’s 2026 Power+ Summit, The Power Grid: Driving Gender Equity Forward, taking place September 28–29 in Detroit, MI.
Together, we will spark bold ideas, share breakthroughs, and shape the future of gender equity.
On March 13, 2020, President Trump declared a national emergency in response to the COVID-19 virus and, subsequently, 42 states and territories issued mandatory stay-at-home orders. By April 2020, the overall rate of unemployment had spiked to 14.7 percent, up from 4.4 percent a month earlier, with adult women’s unemployment reaching 15.5 percent and men’s 13.0 percent.
Five years on, employment has more than recovered, and unemployment has fallen to pre-pandemic levels. This fact sheet reviews whether key indicators for gender and racial/ethnic equality have changed since the pandemic, including employment and unemployment, the role of parenthood for labor force participation, and women’s distribution across industries and occupations.