Even though some new reports have said that the unemployment rate is going down, it has recently been stated that women are starting to leave the work force at a shocking rate due to COIVD. Between August and September 865,000 women dropped out of the work force whereas only 216,000 men dropped from the work force- that's almost four times the rate as men. COVID has forced many people to stay home including children who are either attending school virtually or are not attending school at all due to some schools not reopening. Even thought men maybe staying home in order to help out around the house, many women feel pressured to choose between taking care of their family or going (back) to work. Therefore, many of them end up leaving the work force. Some people may be thinking that women leaving the work force is fine and that it won't harshly affect the economy; however, women make up almost 50% of the work force. How do you think this will affect the economy overall?
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/10/02/919517914/enough-already-multiple-demands-causing-women-to-abandon-workforce
I think this will impact the economy extremely negatively. Two income households will potentially become or return to being a single income household. This will impact consumption and saving in households, which will result in a decrease in GDP. Additionally, the social impact will be rough. During times of high unemployment, social problems like mental illness and domestic abuse run rampant.
ReplyDeleteI hope that the unemployment in both men and women is just a short run fluctuation away from the natural rate. I think if women remain unemployed for extended periods of time, the social norms of women will change. Women may revert back to stay at home lives, and families will become single income.
ReplyDeleteThis will for sure negatively impact the economy. GDP will significantly decrease because of decreased consumption when people are relying on a single income. Also, Rachel makes a good point that it is proven for increasing domestic abuse when people are home for longer periods of time. Do you think women will stay home and at what point do you think the social norms will change if they do?
ReplyDeleteI agree that as more women leave the labor force than men, it will negatively impact the economy, especially since women had made up 50 percent of the labor force. As Nicole said, consumption will decrease with families relying on a single income. Another way women leaving the workforce could hurt the economy is if many of them begin to have more children than had they continued working. Women having more children would mean an increase in the population, which leads to lower capital per worker and income. It will be interesting to see when this trend of women leaving the labor force will end, or how long it will take, and what causes it to occur.
ReplyDeleteThis highlights a major flaw in our economic system and social relations. Because one parent is expected to be a primary caregiver the pandemic disproportionately burdens that parent (mostly women). It would be wiser if parental leave schemes emphasized reduced work hours for both parents and perhaps subsidized childcare. Women should not be expected to leave the labor force (and give up thousands in future earnings) just because our current safety net does not protect families.
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