Fewer U.S. Mothers and Fathers are Working Due to COVID-19 | Pew Research Center

Throughout the pandemic, I have posted extensively about the impact that the crisis has had on women in the workplace. An example of these posts includes the Women in the Workplace study from LeanIn. Org that found that one in four women is considering downshifting (working in a reduced capacity) their careers or leaving the workforce due to the pandemic. And while the pandemic has impacted women in the workplace, it is important to remember that fathers have been impacted as well. This research by Pew provides five facts about how U.S. labor market activity among women and men with children at home has been affected in the first six months of the COVID-19 outbreak. The focus is on the shares of mothers and fathers who are working – employed and at work – in September 2020 and how that compares with where things stood in September 2019. One insight is the shares of mothers who were not in the labor force edged up more than fathers, but, among those at work, fathers cut back on the hours they spent on the job by a little more than mothers did. Also, the share of men overall who are working is at a record low and the share of women at work is the lowest in 35 years. These and other stats are reflective of the unique challenges that working parents continue to face during the pandemic.