Pandemic job losses hitting women working in health care harder than men

In a year of job reductions and school building closures, the role of women in the workplace took a step backward. A nation in theory committed to equal job opportunities for men and women revealed once again that its citizens expect more women than men to stay at home and mind the children.

Anecdotal tales of women “forced” to stay home with their Zoom-educated kids was enough to support the general trend. But as the economy rebounded, who went back to work in greater numbers–men or women? And in which industry were women called back less often than men? Altarum, a nonprofit organization that offers ways to improve health among vulnerable and publicly insured populations, has the answers.

Related: Pandemic-led ‘shecession’ hit women harder than men

In its report, Health Sector Job Recovery Remains Slower Among Women, Altarum tells us that as of this month, women’s unemployment rate stood at 7% compared to 5.9% for men. But women’s unemployment was far greater than men’s at the economy’s nadir; 16.2% of women were out of work, versus 13.5% of men.

By industry, women have lost the most ground in health care, where they dominate employment numbers (13 million of 16.5 million employees as of last March). While calls back to work have still left 36,000 men unemployed, “a whopping 530,000 jobs [are] still missing for women,” the report said.

Women’s employment dove by 10% early in the pandemic, compared to less than 6% for male workers. “At the lowest point in employment in April 2020, women had lost 1.4 million health sector jobs, compared to just 180,000 jobs lost for men,” the study said.

Female nursing home employees represent the job niche where job market re-entry remains the most sluggish.

“The continuing decline in jobs at nursing homes is particularly concerning given this setting has the greatest number of women’s jobs lost. Among nursing homes and residential care, drivers of job loss have included a decrease in elective surgeries leading to a decrease in subsequent rehabilitation needs, an unfortunate concentration of COVID-19 deaths among residents, and an increase in the use of in-home alternatives to residential care settings,” the study said.

The pandemic quickly led to large health care layoffs of women combined with the need for “someone” to stay home to supervise distance learning children. That exposed the latent bias towards female workers that women have spent years attempting to eradicate. Policymakers can take several measures to address these inequities.

One focuses on workforce improvements designed to assist female workers.

“Policymakers should ensure long-term investments in workers are made following this pandemic so that those with extended time outside the labor force through no fault of their own do not see continued, persistent periods of unemployment,” is one recommendation.

Others target the childcare dilemma women continue to face.

“Specific to the greater burden this pandemic has caused on women’s employment in both health and non-health sectors, policymakers must focus on responses that increase the access and affordability of reliable childcare,” the nonprofit report said. It offers actions that can be taken to address this issue:

• Opening schools that are now closed
• Additional family leave funding for childcare
• More generous paid family leave
• Financial support for low-income families with young children.

And more cash benefits in general for families who have to choose between keeping Mom at home or letting her go back to work. “Cash benefits, whether through continued funding of emergency unemployment benefits, expanded child tax credits, or direct payments to low-income families for childcare services, have the potential to aid the overall economic recovery and provide targeted support to families in need and especially low-income women.”