Page 30 - BusinessWest October 26, 2020

Women in Business
Impossible Choices
Why the Economic Turmoil of 2020 Disproportionately Affects Women
IBy Joseph Bednar
t’s a setback that could take years, even decades, to reverse when it comes to economic equal- ity for women.
About 617,000 women left the U.S. workforce in September, compared with only 78,000 men — nearly eight times as many. About half the women who dropped out are in the prime working age of 35 to 44.
“One of our strategic plans centers around economic security for women and girls,” said Donna Haghighat, CEO of the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts. “Obviously, that’s more important now, because many women are concentrated in low-wage jobs to begin with, and a lot of those jobs — ones traditionally filled by women — have disappeared because of the pandemic.”
According to a recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research, the pandemic-fueled reces- sion is tougher for women for two main reasons. First, as Haghighat noted, the crisis has battered indus-
30 OCTOBER 26, 2020 WOMEN IN BUSINESS BusinessWest