Did You Know Covid Impacted Men and Women Differently on the Job?

The Covid-19 pandemic bankrupted some business and disrupted most of the rest. But in addition to adapting to unprecedented changes – including daytime population losses in big cities, a surge in work-from-home opportunities and major lifestyle changes – men and women were affected in different ways on the job.

According to a report from the U.S. Census Bureau, full-time, year-round employment declined by 4.4 million between 2019 and 2021. For men, the job losses were distributed across a broad range of occupations, including construction, transportation, service and sales. Women, on the other hand, experienced job losses concentrated in service and sales fields.

The concentration of female job losses in what tend to be lower-wage jobs also contributed to the ongoing wage gap between men and women, the Census Bureau report said.

Job gains for both men and women were mainly in the areas of management, business, science and the arts – categories where men are paid an average of 26% more than women, according to the report.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau