A ‘she-cession’ no more: After COVID dip, women’s employment hits all-time high

Summary

After fears of a "she-cession" during the pandemic, women have returned to the workforce at unprecedented rates, with jobs in health care and education representing the biggest gains for women in the past year. However, many good-paying jobs in fields such as construction and tech management are still dominated by men. Mothers of small children also lost work at three times the rate of fathers early in the pandemic, and states like California, Massachusetts, and New York are working to get more women into male-dominated fields. Vermont is the only state where prime-age women work at a greater rate than men. Progress in bringing more women to the workplace is likely to continue, as this generation of women has more college degrees than any other generation of women and have made a substantial financial investment in their future.

Q&As

AI Comments

👍 It is great to see that women are returning to the workforce at unprecedented rates, and that states are taking steps to even the playing field for women.

👎 Despite the overall increase in women's employment, many good-paying jobs are still mostly male, creating an ongoing challenge for women to have equal opportunity.

AI Discussion

Me: It's about women's employment hitting an all-time high after the fears of a "she-cession" during the pandemic. Despite the progress, many good-paying jobs are still mostly male, which is an ongoing challenge.

Friend: That's really encouraging news! But it's also concerning that many of the good-paying jobs are still dominated by men.

Me: Yeah, that's true. States are trying to even the playing field by providing funding to get more women into high-wage jobs, including construction and tech management. They're also providing grants for apprenticeships and child care to help women balance work and home responsibilities. But there's still a lot of work to be done in order to close the gender gap in the workforce.

Action items

• Research and explore job opportunities in traditionally male-dominated fields such as construction and tech management.
• Reach out to organizations that provide support for women who have taken career breaks for caregiving and want to return to work.
• Advocate for legislation that provides more day care and improves pay transparency to help women earn higher salaries.

Technical terms

She-cession

A term used to describe the disproportionate economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women.

Demographics

The statistical study of human populations, including age, gender, race, income, and other characteristics.

Economy

The system of production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services in a society.

Labor

The physical or mental effort expended in the production of goods or services.

Social Issues

Problems or issues that affect a large number of people in a society.

Society

A group of people living together in an organized way, making decisions about how to live and work together.

Hybrid Work

A type of work arrangement that combines elements of remote and in-person work.

Pay Transparency

A practice of making information about employee pay and benefits available to all employees.

Apprenticeships

A system of training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study.

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