It’s tough to be an optimist in a global pandemic, especially one that has cost 500,000+ American lives, sent millions into poverty, and driven countless women from the workforce in just one year. But we’re getting there. More vaccines mean we’re inching ever closer to normalcy, schools are reopening, and additional stimulus payments are finally refilling overstretched bank accounts. Experts seem torn on whether we’re fully on the upswing or headed for a “fourth wave,” but when you’re this far down, there’s only one direction to go, right?
The long-term impact on women is a bit murkier. There’s no question that this pandemic has had a massive impact on women’s careers, incomes, mental health, and personal safety, but these terrible circumstances have also produced unexpected bright spots. For example, our large-scale case study in remote work may increase workplace flexibility, although women employed in “essential” roles or lower-wage jobs will likely miss out on those benefits. Additionally, the incessant juggling of work, child care, housework, and now homeschooling that so many women struggled with privately has now taken place with an audience, from remote-working or laid off spouses to the media eager to report on the pandemic’s effects on our nation. Finally, the pandemic has shown employers and our political leaders how vital affordable and accessible childcare is to the normal functioning of our society and economy. Not to discount the propensity of Americans to deny things that they’ve seen with their own eyes, but months on end lockdowns and restrictions has given plenty of credence to the idea that work-life balance for mothers in particular is largely a myth.
Ultimately, in the past year alone, we’ve witnessed what happens when people from all walks of life don’t have flexible employment, health care coverage (including mental health care), reliable childcare, or social support. With even wealthy Americans’ “bootstraps” falling apart in this time of crisis, we can no longer pretend that lower-income people just “fail” to keep it all together, or that women are underrepresented in leadership positions or certain fields because they’re not qualified or not ambitious enough. The truth is, our society isn’t designed to support working mothers or dual-earner families: the pandemic has merely made this fact undeniable. Without our expected social, familial, or economic support, most of us can’t manage any semblance of work-life balance. Incidentally, this is what people living in underserved communities or working low-wage jobs have known—and been telling us—for years. Now that the majority of society is experiencing it, will we finally pay attention?
The optimist in me wants to believe these “revelations” will finally lead to social and governmental changes that make life better for all citizens and working families. Unfortunately, as we’ve seen in response to anti-racist advocacy, women’s rights activism, policy reactions to mass shootings like the infamous one at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and many more scenarios, Americans are as divided as ever when it comes to addressing structural issues within our society and government. We live in a country that, for decades, has valued individualism and profit above all else, and making our society truly family-friendly would require both an acknowledgment of our structural dysfunction and a willingness to evolve our culture. However, one thing is certain: our response to this all-encompassing global pandemic will define us in some way, and the effects will reverberate for years to come. Will we take this opportunity to address inequality and our lack of support for working families, or will we double down on the failed strategies that landed us here in the first place? Only time, a few more record-turnout elections, and perhaps some enthusiastic activism, will tell.