Day 9: Working & Parenting in the Pandemic

DAY 9 Of YWCA Spokane’s 14-Day Racial Equity & Social Justice Challenge

We hope this challenge provides you with an opportunity to better understand concepts related to race, power, privilege, and leadership.

DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | DAY 4 | DAY 5 | DAY 6 | DAY 7 | DAY 8 | DAY 9 | DAY 10 | DAY 11 | DAY 12 | DAY 13 | DAY 14

Thank you for taking this challenge! If this is your first day of joining us for the 14-Day Racial Equity & Social Justice Challenge, welcome. If you are returning after previous engagement with the challenge, nice work! We are glad you are here. Each weekday from Tuesday, June 8th through Friday, June 25th, YWCA Spokane will send those who sign up for our challenge emails prompting you to make time to learn about racial equity and social justice.

We encourage everyone to talk about what you are learning with friends, share on social media with #ywcaequitychallenge, and take time to reflect on your personal insights after each challenge using this reflection log. Consider joining our Racial & Social Justice Facebook Group to continue the conversation online and connect with others.

DAY 9: working & parenting in the Pandemic

Almost 70 percent of mothers say that worry and stress from the pandemic have damaged their health, magnified by a number of intersecting issues, including poverty, race, having special needs children, and being a single parent. New mothers are also facing record isolation, with triple the number of new moms experiencing postpartum depression and anxiety according to one study.

We are also living through our nation’s first female-driven recession, as the COVID-19 public health and economic crisis has triggered a nationwide “shecession,” risking decades of progress for women in the workplace. January 2020 was the second time ever that women held more jobs than men in the workforce — now, a year later, more than 2.3 million women across the U.S. have exited the workforce.

Women are bearing the burden of providing full-time childcare as schools and daycares remain limited — many while still working full-time in or out of the home. The pandemic has also reversed women’s workplace gains as female-dominated sectors have been hit the hardest. Fields like leisure, hospitality, childcare, and healthcare are also disproportionately nonwhite and female.

One in four women are considering downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce entirely because of the impact of COVID-19. Unsurprisingly, the economic crisis caused by the pandemic has impacted women of color the most. Latinas were particularly affected by the economic ramifications of COVID-19, with unemployment rates exceeding 20 percent.

The dependence on mothers to be full-time teachers, caregivers, and breadwinners simultaneously is also placing a toxic toll on mental health that needs to be acknowledged.

If you have…

5 Minutes	and	10 Minutes	and	30 Minutes
	and		and
Read this article to take a closer look at the condition of women and people of color in the Washington workforce amidst the COVID pandemic.	and	Explore this report  by the National Women’s Law Center on the pandemic, economy, and state of women’s work in America.	and	Listen to this podcast by WBUR examining the long-term impacts of the “shecession” on families.

• BONUS 1: If you have an extra 5 minutes, read this report from CNBC on the struggle of Black and Latina women in the job market recovery.
• BONUS 2: If you have an extra 15 minutes, read this article about the effect of American work culture on working and parenting in the pandemic .

daily Reflection

Once you have completed today’s challenge, take a moment to reflect on any insights you experienced. How did the challenge make you feel? What is something you learned? Did you notice anything about yourself after taking the challenge? Consider sharing this new awareness with a friend or group to help deepen your understanding of the information. Consider tracking your reflections on the below daily log or joining our online Facebook group to encourage daily sharing with each other about the challenge topics.

Challenge Reflection Log

Share each challenge online with #YWCAEquityChallenge

DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | DAY 4 | DAY 5 | DAY 6 | DAY 7 | DAY 8 | DAY 9 | DAY 10 | DAY 11 | DAY 12 | DAY 13 | DAY 14

Do you have resources you think we should share? Any insights you would like to share with us? We welcome you to leave your comments here. Thank you!