Female heads of households being impacted by pandemic

According to a recent MReport, female heads of households are getting hit harder by COVID-19 than males. The MReport reviewed data from a Zillow report that stated working women are being far more negatively impacted by the pandemic. The report revealed that there is a large disproportion between men and women as they face housing impacts due to unemployment, housing tenure, and child care. Experts are even calling the recession a “she-cession”. This is extremely frustrating for the female workforce that has been fighting successfully to close the gender gap in the past few years. Now, the recession caused by COVID-19 threatens to wipe that progress away. The Zillow report stated that in the beginning of 2020, more women than ever were holding their own in the workforce. Women were also starting to earn more income and female heads of households were increasing in value. Unfortunately, the pandemic had paused that progress and even might have sent women several steps back, especially in regards to housing and employment. Unemployment claims for women increased by 1,368% at the height of the pandemic induced recession. In addition, in September, 80% of those who filed for unemployment were women. The report revealed that renters, who have been hit very hard by the recession, are far more likely to be women. Among these women renters, almost half reported they spend roughly a third of their income on housing costs.

WHAT ELSE DID THEY FIND?

The Zillow report stated, “Beyond the social and cultural pressures on women to be the primary caretakers in their households, there are significantly more female-headed households led by single parents. Female-headed renter households are more than twice as likely as male-headed renter households to be single parents—70% of mothers who are household heads are single parents, compared to only 32% of fathers”. In addition, the MReport stated, “Reports suggest the “double hit” of being more likely to work in industries affected by layoffs, and, with more schools eschewing in-school education versus virtual, online studies, and a great number of child care facilities shuttering their doors (all due to concerns over the current pandemic), many more working mothers than fathers have reported being out of work due to the rising commitment and need for child care coverage”.

Click here to read the full MReport and learn more!