One Anti-Racist Action You Can Take Today: Recognize The Fragility Of Gains Without Full Systemic Change
By Guimel DeCarvalho
Vice President of People & Culture
Over the last 100 years women went from having 8 million jobs in the workforce to 78 million. In the last year, over 5 million women have lost their jobs. In December, women were 100% of all the jobs lost. The progress of women as a whole has been astounding and the speed at which much of that progress has been lost in one year can make one’s head spin. In 2019 more women graduated college than men, women were the majority of the workforce and at the same time women continued to earn less than men and as can be seen in 2020 they were the first to lose their jobs. Laws have been put in place to support women in the workplace, however the underpinning systemic belief that women should have the sole expectations for caregiving has not fully been addressed. As stated in the CNBC article linked below,
one in four women said they were considering downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce due to the pandemic’s impact, with mothers three times as likely as fathers to be responsible for the majority of housework and childcare during Covid-19.
It is important to recognize the fragile nature of these gains when the roots of the systemic oppression underneath them have not changed. That is why anti-racist, and all anti-oppression, actions need sustained vigilance by all.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/11/women-account-for-100percent-of-jobs-lost-in-december-new-analysis.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemcgrath/2021/01/12/american-women-lost-more-than-5-million-jobs-in-2020/?sh=2aca9f252857
