Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
The Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, provides the nation with a safe, flexible, and stable monetary and financial system.
Finance and Economics Discussion Series (FEDS)
October 2021 (Revised July 2023)
Women's Labor Force Exits during COVID-19: Differences by Motherhood, Race, and Ethnicity
Katherine Lim and Mike Zabek
Abstract:
While the descriptive impacts of the pandemic on women have been well documented in the aggregate, we know much less about the impacts of the pandemic on different groups of women. After controlling for detailed job and demographic characteristics, including occupation and industry, we find that the pandemic led to significant excess labor force exits among women living with children under age six relative to women without children. We also find evidence of larger increases in exits among lower-earning women. The presence of children predicted larger increases in exits during the pandemic among Latina and Black women relative to White women. Overall, we find evidence that pandemic induced disruptions to childcare, including informal care from family and friends. Our results suggest that the unique effect of childcare disruptions during the pandemic exacerbated pre-existing racial and income inequalities among women.
Keywords: Women, Labor Force Participation, Race, Ethnicity, Labor Supply, COVID-19
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17016/FEDS.2021.067r1
PDF: Full Paper; https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/feds/files/2021067r1pap.pdf
Original Paper: PDF | Accessible materials (.zip)
Disclaimer: The economic research that is linked from this page represents the views of the authors and does not indicate concurrence either by other members of the Board's staff or by the Board of Governors. The economic research and their conclusions are often preliminary and are circulated to stimulate discussion and critical comment. The Board values having a staff that conducts research on a wide range of economic topics and that explores a diverse array of perspectives on those topics. The resulting conversations in academia, the economic policy community, and the broader public are important to sharpening our collective thinking.
BOARD OF GOVERNORS of the FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
TOOLS AND INFORMATION
More Articles
- National Institutes of Health: For Healthy Adults, Taking Multivitamins Daily is Not Associated With a Lower Risk of Death
- GAO Report On Air Travel and Communicable Diseases: Federal Leadership Needed to Advance Research
- Why Some Cities Lost Population in 2021: One Specific Group — Younger Adults in Their Early 20s to Mid-30s
- Justice Department Secures Agreement with CVS Pharmacy, Inc. to Make Online COVID-19 Vaccine Registration Accessible for People with Disabilities
- GAO* Report, Cybersecurity: National Institutes of Health Needs to Take Further Actions to Resolve Control Deficiencies and Improve Its Program
- Journalist's Resource: Religious Exemptions and Required Vaccines; Examining the Research
- Testimony of Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: "The debt ceiling has been raised or suspended 78 times since 1960"
- Jo Freeman's Review of "Frankly, We Did Win This Election" By Michael C. Bender
- Researchers From Yale University, Stanford Medical School, University of California, Berkeley: Largest Study of Its Kind Finds Face Masks Reduce COVID-19
- Population Changes Across the Country Since the 2010 Census: "our nation is growing slower than it used to"
