Temperatures will continue to fall over the next few days

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This year started on a high note for women in the workforce. In February, right before the pandemic closed down the United States, 

 the nation’s civilian, nonfarm labor force. The gender wage gap was also at its most narrow, with women making 81-cents for every dollar men make.

 pandemic has wiped out nearly all of women’s gains

 in the workforce over the last decade, leading some economists to call the current crisis a “she-cession.”

 disproportionate impact the shutdown had on jobs that women work

. Restaurants, tourism and retail — all sectors where women make up the majority of the workforce — were severely affected.

But an even more important factor is child care. As daycare centers and schools shut down, so did parents’ ability to work,  and once again, 

 mothers provide more than 60 percent of child care

, even if both partners work full time. Mothers with young children are particularly impacted. They’ve cut their work hours

Tuesday, MPR News guest host Catharine Richert tackled this complex topic. What does this mean for women, long-term? Is America reaching a tipping point when it comes to the child care crisis? And is there anything that can be done in the short term to prevent further losses for women?

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

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In most recessions, it’s the men who lose the jobs. Not so with the COVID-19 pandemic. Unemployment is highest among women, and it could take decades for women to make up what was lost.

How the pandemic is squeezing women out of their jobs — maybe for good

A woman with a face mask sits at a desk in an office.

How the pandemic is squeezing women out of their jobs — maybe for good

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