Toward an Inclusive Recovery

This seminar streamed live on October 21, 2021, exploring issues related to women’s economic declines during the pandemic and the ability of women to participate equally in existing markets, post-recession.

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The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic ramification has disproportionally impacted women. This so-called “she-cession” is throwing away decades of hard-won battles both in terms of gender equality and women’s economic gains. Women, particularly women of color, are more likely to work in the sectors hit hardest by economic closures, including healthcare, retail, and the informal economy. Women are more impacted by the burdens of caregiving—including caring for children and elderly parents who are now at home rather than at school or living on their own. Additionally, women entrepreneurs are also often less likely than men to have access to the loans and other financial services that help businesses weather a downturn.  

Even before the pandemic, the World Economic Forum estimated that it would take 250 years to close the economic gender gap. How can we ensure economic recovery efforts include and support women? More broadly, how do we create a more equitable economic environment that offers the tools, resources and opportunities women need to thrive? 

This seminar, presented by the Federal Reserve Banks of Dallas and Kansas City, will discuss how we can ensure economic recovery efforts include and support women and how we create a more equitable economic environment that offers the tools, resources, and opportunities women need to thrive. It will examine these important questions related to women’s economic declines during the pandemic and their ability to participate equally in the post-recession labor market. The first panel will provide a framing of the issue, including what makes the she-cession so different from previous recessions. The second will explore ideas on how to rebuild a more inclusive economy for working women.