First person: Faces of the 2020 'shecession' today
Listen to our hour on the economic impact of the pandemic on women.
The ‘shecession.’ It’s a phrase that was in the headlines for much of 2020.
But new analysis finds that gender was not the main driver behind those pandemic job losses for women.
MEGHNA CHAKRABARTI: Now, the numbers back then seemed as black and white as numbers can get. From February to May 2020, almost 12 million American women lost their jobs compared to 9 million men, according to Pew Research. Now, that’s a complete flip when compared to the Great Recession back in 2007 to 2008, when more than twice as many men lost their jobs when compared to women.
So by late 2020, we felt like we had to cover the recession. And on October 22nd, 2020, here’s a bit of what I said on this very show.
CHAKRABARTI [Tape]: Today, we’re talking about the ‘shecession.’ Usually, I’m not a huge fan of catchphrases, but this one’s pretty accurate. It’s the ongoing disproportionate impact that the pandemic recession has had on working women and their families.
CHAKRABARTI: Oh, I sound so serious. But it was serious at that time. Because in that same month, we talked with Latrish Oseko. She’d been laid off. Then her landlord sold the Newark, Delaware house she, her boyfriend and then four-year-old daughter were living in. They had to move into a motel and the motel sucked up almost every dollar Latrish was getting from unemployment.
LATRISH OSEKO [Tape]: I don’t know when I’m going to go to work. I just had a very nice Zoom interview yesterday, but I just don’t know. You
