Women Were Making Historic Strides in the Workforce. Then the Pandemic Hit

Yasmine Parrish was at the top of her game. The marketing consultant from Los Angeles, who works with fashion and beauty brands, was successfully placing her clients in conferences, speaking engagements and consumer-driven events around the country. “I made more money in February than any other month in my whole career,” says Parrish, 32. “I was at a place I had always wanted to be in terms of caliber of clients.” Then the pandemic hit. Events across the country were canceled, slashing Parrish’s income by about two thirds. She filed for unemployment benefits and mortgage payments nearly depleted her $6,000 in savings. Now, she’s trying to pivot her business to other marketing channels that don’t rely on the kinds of crowded events that have been canceled or postponed because of the coronavirus. Parrish’s situation is familiar to millions of women across the U.S. Employment figures released June 5 show that the economic downturn triggered by COVID-19 has been devastating for women in particular. When the country first locked down, women dropped from the workforce at a higher rate than men. Now, as the country begins to reopen, women are being re-employed at a slower rate than men—an early sign that the economic pain will last much longer for women. Women accounted for 55% of the 22 million jobs lost in March and April, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). But they accounted for only 45% of the 2.5 m...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Economy UnitedWeRise20Disaster Source Type: news