Decades upon centuries, gender equality has always been a complicated topic. The very foundation that opened numerous opportunities for women is known to be more than just a human right, it is a necessary phenomenon that signifies our progress in balancing social norms and power structures.
Yet, what makes women empowerment and the notion of gender equality so difficult is that the concept itself is always fluctuating based on incidents that are out of human control. Socio-economic elements are powerful tools of liberation, and they are simultaneously the very same elements that carry on the most challenges in achieving feminist ideals.
With the addition of an unfortunate outbreak, however, the social and economic boundaries that had made so much progress could only be pushed decades back in time — an unexpected eventuality forced into the 21st century.
Starting from a simple recession and gradually entering into a state of trepidation, this pandemic is not getting any better case-wise. It is no surprise that pandemic-fueled unemployment rates intensified over the past months, clashing with different groups of people in similar, yet distinct ways.
And this alone is enough to amplify traditional gender roles in families — even in households that champion well-minded partners that have the best intentions and support 50/50 labor divisions.
What’s more, is that being a remote worker is a chief struggle. The idea of earning money at home while spending time with loved ones might have appeared attractive at first, but that was before the standards rose to double homely affairs as well.
Families tend to reinforce gender roles subconsciously.
Men are traditionally the breadwinners. So they are often subjected to employment privileges during economic turmoil, while women are more likely to sacrifice their work to attend domestic arrangements.
Women make up 49% of America’s workforce, yet they mount 55% of the 20.5 million jobs lost between March and April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). What makes these numbers so historic is that there has never been an unemployment rate in the double-digits since the BLS began recording data by gender in 1948.
Aimlessly, involuntary part-time has also become a new normal alongside plenty of changes that now play out in our everyday lives. Although they are more likely to be situated with temporary and part-time positions than their male counterparts, 3 in 10 women working part-time wanted to indulge in full-time work but did not have the economic means to do so (such as employers not giving full hours).
Employment complications, under the influence of a global health crisis, do little for single-parent households. Reports from the US Census Bureau show that 50% of single mothers work full-time, but nearly 30% of female-householder families are living under the poverty line.
Data from the BLS also demonstrated that the staggering cut on work hours are not just crippling heavy waves across gender, but also on race and class. Out of them all, 29% of Black and 26% of Asian women could not take part in full-time jobs, whereas Latinas covered the vast spectrum with a sizable 39%.
So, as families self-isolate, business and caretaker responsibilities skyrocket during this pandemic. Fiddling chores, family expectations, and being present for Zoom meetings during a lockdown undoubtedly augments the amount of work constituted on busy days — especially in households where primary parenting tasks tend to fall upon the mother.
And despite being labeled as the “great equalizer,” this widespread health emergency unclothed a repressed darkness that is often swept under the rug by families, employees, and communities alike.
Men and women are intrinsic to the heart and backbone of this economy. They are the principle complementarity of structure in modern-time America to which if one were to collapse, the entire course of function would also fall into perturbation.
People still have a long way to go regarding equality in a land where women are crucial to the labor market — and the disproportionate impact radiated by current hazardous conditions is merely another drop in the pond.
