How the pandemic affected pay of women in healthcare

During the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, for the first time ever, more women than men lost their jobs in the U.S. The disproportionate burden of caregiving for women and segregation of occupation coalesced to hit women hard during the pandemic, contributing to 11.9 million women losing their jobs according to a March 15 report from the department of labor.

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Georgina Gonzalez

The report reveals the enormous financial and social effects of the pandemic on women in the healthcare workforce:

  1. Women saw a 78.8 percent loss of jobs in the healthcare and education sector between 2019 and 2020 with Black and Hispanic women seeing disproportionate losses compared to their prevalence in the workforce.
  2. Women tend to be overrepresented in some of the lowest paid occupations, including home health aides, which earn an average of $587 a week and are 84.1 percent women. 
  3. Losses in leisure and hospitality, government and education and health services made up for over half of the total job losses and 61.8 percent of women’s losses.
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