The Women and Girls Foundation

Femisphere: COVID-19 and the succeeding economic inflation impacted everyone, but women, especially women of color are bearing a much bigger burden. Women are four times more likely than men to have lost work since the pandemic began. They also are more likely to be low-wage, front line workers, at greater risk of catching the virus, yet without access to paid family or medical leave. Covid-19 exposed our current system for being inequitable, inefficient, unhealthy, and unjust. In total, more than 2.3 million women were pushed out of the workforce in 2020 alone (National Womens Law Center, March 2021). Every day WGF is working with coalition partners, at the local, state, and federal levels, advocating for women to be central to economic recovery plans. This means family sustaining workplace policies including increases to the minimum wage, paid sick days, paid family leave, access to affordable healthcare, transportation, and child care.