IMF Working Papers

COVID-19 She-Cession: The Employment Penalty of Taking Care of Young Children

By Stefania Fabrizio, Diego B. P. Gomes, Marina Mendes Tavares

March 4, 2021

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Stefania Fabrizio, Diego B. P. Gomes, and Marina Mendes Tavares. COVID-19 She-Cession: The Employment Penalty of Taking Care of Young Children, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 2021) accessed December 22, 2024

Disclaimer: IMF Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to encourage debate. The views expressed in IMF Working Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.

Summary

The COVID-19 outbreak and the measures to contain the virus have caused severe disruptions to labor supply and demand worldwide. Understanding who is bearing the burden of the crisis and what drives it is crucial for designing policies going forward. Using the U.S. monthly Current Population Survey data, this paper analyzes differences in employment responses between men and women. The main finding is that less educated women with young children were the most adversely affected during the first nine months of the crisis.The loss of employment of women with young children due to the burden of additional childcare is estimated to account for 45 percent of the increase in the employment gender gap, and to reduce total output by 0.36 percent between April and November 2020.

Subject: Education, Employment, Gender, Gender inequality, Labor, Unemployment, Women

Keywords: Change series, COVID-19, Employment, Employment fluctuation, Employment gender gap, Employment level, Employment loss, Employment penalty, Employment trajectory, Gender employment gap, Gender employment growth gap, Gender Equality, Gender gap increase, Gender inequality, Occupations employment, Output Cost, School Closures, Unemployment, Women, Women employment distribution, WP

Publication Details

  • Pages:

    33

  • Volume:

    ---

  • DOI:

    ---

  • Issue:

    ---

  • Series:

    Working Paper No. 2021/058

  • Stock No:

    WPIEA2021058

  • ISBN:

    9781513571157

  • ISSN:

    1018-5941

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