The numbers were grim: 2.3 million women pushed out of the workforce between March 2020 and March 2021. A generation’s worth of progress in women’s workforce participation lost, by some accounts. Women of color hit especially hard. Now, as the U.S. recovers from the pandemic, it’s time to look not only at what we’ve lost but also at what we’ve learned. Can we rethink how and when we work to better support women?
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A new 6-part audio series: The pandemic has done a real number on the American workforce. But no demographic has been more affected than women. They’ve lost the most jobs and faced the most burnout. In this audio series, we bring you stories from six women in Las Vegas, one of the hardest-hit economies in the country. Through them, we see the depth of the challenges women have faced – and what their strength, resilience, and openness to reinvention show us about how to move forward.
For this performer, when all else fails? Reinvent yourself. Christine Hudman Pardy had achieved the artist’s dream: a passion-filled career and financial stability. But when the pandemic hit and she lost it all, she turned inward to face her external circumstances.
Frontline worker, pandemic mom: How one nurse did it all: The pandemic dealt Yarleny Roa-Dugan her toughest challenges yet. But the nurse and mother of two refuses to let that slow her down for long.
In a year of tests, this hotel worker found community – and her voice. For hotel service worker Mariza Rocha, the pandemic left her without work and struggling with loneliness. Her union helped her see the power of community support in times of crisis.
The pandemic pushed her to the limit. But this teacher carries on. Teaching has become a love-stress relationship for Leslie Stevenson, made only more difficult by the pandemic. Can she find a way to do what she feels called to do without burning out?
Young sisters Jaelynn and Jennifer Ashley Ciballos couldn’t be more different. Yet they work together to bring their family a much-needed sense of financial stability — and show the value of prioritizing the people who matter most.
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