Five years after the pandemic, women's employment is at a record high, and men are taking on more unpaid care work—but persistent disparities, especially for mothers and women of color, underscore the need to sustain the momentum and drive further progress.
WASHINGTON, March 6, 2025 -- On March 13, 2020, a national emergency was declared in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, fundamentally altering the landscape of work and caregiving across the United States.
Five years later, the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) has released two new analyses examining how the post-pandemic period has influenced women's employment, job distribution, and care responsibilities. The findings highlight the critical role that structural policy reforms, care economy investments, and equitable job access play in ensuring women's long-term workforce stability.
The first release, "Women at Work Five Years Since the Start of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Any Progress?," finds that while women's employment numbers have surpassed pre-pandemic levels, occupational segregation and gender and racial disparities still persist. The second data analysis, "Care Work After COVID-19: Men Help More, but Women Still Carry the Load," shows that although men have taken on more unpaid caregiving since the pandemic, women still shoulder most domestic responsibilities, straining their economic security.
"The pandemic highlighted and exacerbated gender inequalities in both paid and unpaid labor," said Dr. Jamila K. Taylor, president and CEO of IWPR. "While we've made progress in workforce recovery, the data show that the economic and social burdens on women—especially Black and Latina women—remain substantial. We need stronger policies to ensure a more equitable future."
Key Findings from IWPR's Analysis:
Employment Recovery and Ongoing Workforce Inequities
Findings from "Women at Work Five Years Since the Start of the COVID-19 Pandemic" show women gaining jobs in higher-paying, male-dominated fields, but major hurdles to job security and pay equity still remain for mothers and women of color. *Please note this research was published ahead of the release of the February 2025 employment numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Delayed Recovery: Women's employment has fully recovered from the pandemic, but it took nearly three years—and 11 months longer than men's—to reach pre-COVID employment levels, finally achieving this in January 2023. From January 2020 to January 2025, the number of employed adult women increased by 2.4 million.
- Racial and Ethnic Disparities: Unemployment gaps between Black and Latina women and their White counterparts have decreased since the pandemic. In January 2025, Black women were still 1.6 times more likely to be unemployed than White women (down from 2.1 times in January 2020), and Latina women were 1.4 times more likely to be unemployed than White women (down from 1.6 times in 2020).
- Mothers in the Workforce: By 2023, mothers' labor force participation had returned to pre-pandemic levels, paralleling the recovery of child care center jobs. However, the gender gap in labor force participation remains significant, with 73.7 percent of mothers in the labor force compared to 94.9 percent of fathers; in 2019, those rates were 71.9 and 94.7 percent, respectively.
- Industry Shifts to Better Jobs: Women have increased their presence in traditionally male-dominated, higher-paying sectors such as transportation, construction, and utilities, while their employment in lower-paying retail and hospitality jobs has declined. In January 2025, 264,000 more women were on payroll in transportation and warehousing and 194,000 more in construction than five years earlier, but there were 227,000 fewer women in retail and 122,000 fewer in leisure and hospitality.
- Occupational Segregation: The gender divide in occupations is worse between parents of children ages 12 and younger than between other workers. After falling slightly in the wake of the pandemic, in 2024, occupational segregation worsened for parents. In 2024, the occupational segregation index for mothers and fathers of children 12 and under was 0.52, indicating that 52 percent of mothers or fathers would need to change jobs to achieve gender parity.
The IWPR report emphasizes that these disparities in both employment and unpaid care work have long-term economic consequences for women, including lower lifetime earnings, reduced retirement savings, and increased financial insecurity.
Men Help More, but Women Still Carry the Unpaid Care Workload
Findings from "Care Work After COVID-19" highlight the enduring gender gap in caregiving responsibilities despite men doing more.
- Gender Gap Shrinks: The gender gap in unpaid care work narrowed, shifting from 77.5 percent in 2018 to 81.0 percent in 2023, primarily because the share of women providing care declined more than the share of men. In 2023, 36.3 percent of women spent at least 30 minutes a day on caregiving, down from 40.8 percent in 2018. Meanwhile, 29.4 percent of men provided care in 2023, compared to 31.6 percent in 2018.
- An Unequal Burden Remains: While this gap has narrowed slightly since 2018, women caregivers still spend significantly more time on caregiving than men—6.7 hours per day compared to 5.6 hours.
- The Role of Race: The gender gap in caregiving varied strongly by race/ethnicity, with the gender care gap being largest among Asian women and men (63.7 percent) and smallest among Latinas/os (97.8 percent).
"The pandemic highlighted the big gender disparities in time spent caring for loved ones. Seeing men increase the time they spent on family care—even a little bit—is welcome," said Dr. Jamila K. Taylor. "Yet women still spent much more time providing unpaid care than men, and it hurts them economically. Addressing this imbalance is crucial for advancing gender equity."
Policy Recommendations for a More Equitable Future:
- Investment in the Care Economy: Increased federal and state funding for child care and eldercare to support working families and ensure that caregiving responsibilities do not disproportionately fall on women.
- Equal Pay and Job Access: Stronger enforcement of equal pay laws and initiatives to expand women's access to higher-paying, male-dominated industries such as technology, construction, and transportation.
- Workplace Flexibility and Paid Leave: Promotion of flexible work policies, including remote work and paid family leave, to accommodate caregiving responsibilities.
- Eliminating Occupational Segregation: Expanding job training and career development programs to help women enter and advance in high-wage sectors.
As the nation moves beyond the pandemic's economic disruptions—bolstered by policies that expanded access to care and high-paying infrastructure jobs—the findings in this new research serve as a critical call to action. While employment numbers indicate a full recovery, the reality for many women—particularly mothers and women of color—is far more complex. Without sustained policy efforts and protections for gender equity investments, these disparities will worsen.
"This research serves as a reminder that policy can drive progress and recovery isn't just about job numbers—it's about the quality of those jobs, the wages they offer, and whether all women, regardless of race or caregiving responsibilities, have a fair shot at economic security," said Dr. Taylor. "We must build a labor market that truly works for everyone."
About IWPR
The Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) is a leading national think tank dedicated to advancing women's economic security, workplace equity, and policy solutions that support gender and racial justice. Through rigorous research and strategic advocacy, IWPR works to inform public policy and drive meaningful change for women in the workforce. To schedule an interview with the authors or request additional information, please contact Chandler Rollins at rollins@iwpr.org
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