Millions of women were already supporting themselves and their families on meager wages before coronavirus-mitigation lockdowns sent unemployment rates skyrocketing and millions of jobs disappeared. Working mothers were already shouldering the majority of family caregiving responsibilities in the face of a childcare system that is wholly inadequate for a society in which most parents work outside the home. Of course, the disruptions to daycare centers, schools, and afterschool programs have been hard on working fathers, but evidence shows working mothers have taken on more of the resulting childcare responsibilities and are more frequently reducing their hours or leaving their jobs entirely in response. Our panel will discuss how this situation is playing out in our community and what is being done to support the women who are faced with these challenges.
This Mary Lazarus Legacy Fund Celebrating Women In Society Forum features Christie Angel, President & CEO, YWCA; Lisa Patt-McDaniel, President & CEO, Workforce Development Board of Central Ohio; Elizabeth Brown, Columbus City Council, President Pro Tempore and Executive Director, Ohio Women’s Public Policy Network, with host, Jo Ingles, Journalist, Statehouse New Bureau.
