Second, a higher proportion of women worked in and continue to be employed in positions in the high-contact service sectors that were hit hardest by the pandemic. Caregiving burdens in the United States have always fallen more heavily on women. In the 20 years before the pandemic, roughly one-fourth of prime-age women with children didn’t participate in the workforce.
An even larger share of women with children under five were primarily engaged in childcare. Many women with children tend to cycle in and out of employment based on their family’s childcare demands. Women are significantly affected by the summer childcare burdens of families with children.