San Antonio Standard

The economic crisis created by restrictions related to COVID-19 has fallen unequally on women with children, as working mothers find themselves more deeply affected by the combination of economic crisis and restrictions that have constricted already insufficient child care options.

In a survey by Flex Jobs, the company found that 63% of working mothers were handling primary child care responsibilities, compared to 42% of working fathers. 

The gap is even more significant for families having to facilitate remote learning for children, with 80% of working mothers taking the lead in helping to educate children, compared to only 31% of working fathers. Additionally, while 17% of working mothers quit their jobs in order to make those adjustments, only 10% of working fathers did the same.

Also, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics September jobs report showed that four times as many women dropped out of the labor force in September as men, according to the National Women’s Law Center. For those 20 and older, 1.1 million people stopped either working or looking for work, and 865,000, or 80%, of those were women, concluded the survey.

But these are not simply temporary adjustments, either, according to the Flex Jobs survey. Out of those who quit their jobs in order to take care of their families, 38% said they have no plans of rejoining the workforce.

Unemployment was already affecting women more significantly than men, according to coverage by EconoFact. Although the unemployment rate for men went up 9.9% between February and April, women’s unemployment grew by 12.8% in the same time period.

EconoFact noted that some portion of the difference was attributed to the existing inequalities in the types of work women tend to perform, with more employed in the hospitality and restaurant industries. 

However, a significant portion of the difference also came down to the likelihood women would quit their jobs in order to take over child care duties with no options for childcare outside the home.