Women in the Times of COVID-19
The Fearless Girl with a collar lace in honor of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
The COVID-19 pandemic has created two crises, a healthcare crisis and a financial crisis. Everyone has been hit hard, but it is not surprise that women and specifically women of color will be significantly impacted by the latter. This demographic is known for working in lower paying jobs that normally don’t require a high school or college degree, which consist of jobs in the hospitality and leisure industry. This industry has been directly impacted during the pandemic. Restaurants and hotels were closed during the stay home period and continue to be subjected to local restrictions. The shutdown resulted in million of furloughs and layoffs between April and June, with 39.3% and 28.9% unemployment rate, respectively.
According to the 2nd quarter of 2020 salary figures provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the total labor force without a high school diploma had median weekly earnings of $630, compared with $789 for high school graduates, and $1,416 for those with a bachelor’s degree and higher. However, those figures don’t reflect the gender pay gap that exists within the labor force. The earnings for women are lower, and get worse for women of color. See chart below for median weekly earnings by educational attainment as a total population for the 2nd quarter of 2020.
To find out the gender pay gap percent, I obtained the median weekly earnings by gender and ethnicity data, and found out that, women’s median weekly salary as a percent of men’s earnings for the 2nd quarter 2020, equals approximately 84%, according the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. If we take this percentage, women are lagging approximately 16%, where depending on their level of education can significantly impact women’s financial well-being. If we take into consideration women’s total labor force without high school diploma, they will have $525 weekly earnings, resulting in a decrease of $105. Further, Black and Latino women pay gap is far worse than white and Asian per chart shown below:
Hispanic or Latino women earn 66.0% of total men’s median weekly earnings or $717 of $1,087. Black women median weekly earnings percent was slightly higher than Latinx at 71.7% or $779 of $1,087. Note that these figures are not seasonally adjusted, and total earnings not taking into account academic achievement.
The first chart shows that the two main reasons that preclude women of color from living a successful financial life are the following: low levels of education, which has a direct relationship with the high cost of college education; and the lack of a support network, including mentors.
When women have low levels of income, it is more difficult to provide a better future for their families. As a result, they will be missing a tremendous opportunity to have a better quality of life, including saving for retirement, and their children’s college education, which makes it more difficult for them to get out of a cycle of poverty.
At Eleva Women on the Move, our goal is to increase the next generation of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), women’s level of education, to earn higher wages or salaries, and consequently achieve a better financial well-being. Until then, it is our priority to share awareness, provide a support network, and other resources, to make better career choices and financial decisions.
If you want to learn more about the state of women’s in the workplace, visit Women in The Workplace at the link listed below, for the latest 2020 study completed by McKinsey & Company.
“One in four women are considering downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce due to COVID-19”