Women took on more of the home-schooling duties while schools were closed due to the pandemic, studies have found.
While debates rage throughout North America over whether to open schools for in-person education or not, it’s important to look at one key reason politicians want them to open. They want to get the economy going again and that is highly dependent on women being able to work, which they can’t do if kids are not in school.
Several recent studies have shown women have been hard hit by job losses in the pandemic, and they also take on most of the child care and home schooling duties.
At least 1.5 million women lost their jobs in March and April, and women’s participation in the labour market is the lowest it’s been in 30 years, an RBC study found. Women’s employment isn’t bouncing back as quickly as men’s, the same study found.
“We know many women are shouldering the burden of unpaid care work at home, looking after children and providing care for sick relatives,” Canada’s finance minister Bill Morneau said in his economic update earlier this summer. “The lack of child care services could delay women’s return to work.”
As well as taking on more childcare – and schooling, which has been mostly remote since March – women also tend to work in businesses, like hotels, restaurants and retail shops, that have been hard hit by the pandemic.
Researchers at the University of British Columbia found that parents of young children face difficult choices about work and childcare due to covid-19.
“Parents able to work from home struggled to juggle childcare and employment duties, whereas others faced stark choices between continuing to go to work and caring for kids,” the study in Canadian Public Policy found. “For single parents, maintaining both employment and caregiving is a particular challenge.”
The pandemic is “exacerbating pre-existing social inequalities,” which could have long-lasting repercussions, the study found. The availability of childcare centres and schools will be key to the recovery in women’s employment, the study found.
In B.C., more women than men lost their jobs, B.C.’s finance minister Carole James said in her comments on June’s job’s report.
“The road ahead is a challenging one,” James said. "The covid-19 pandemic has challenged and changed our province. Thousands of families, young people and businesses continue to struggle to make ends meet.”
The provincial covid-19 survey also revealed that 52 per cent of families with children experienced worsening mental health, 49 per cent anticipate a worsening financial situation and 72 per cent say their work has been impaired by covid-19. Those percentages are all higher than the population at large.
So, with that in mind, here are the highlights of the week:
- B.C. announced its back to school plan, with the Ministry of Education saying school would be full-time, with students kept in cohorts of 60 students in elementary school and 120 students in secondary school. The B.C. Teachers’ Federation was not on board and said the plan needs more work.
- A Leger and Association for Canadian Studies poll found that nearly half of B.C. parents don’t know yet if they will send their children back to school. Forty per cent said yes and 12 per cent said they will keep their children home. In June, about one-third of students attended when schools reopened part-time.
- A similar debate is taking place in the United States, with Donald Trump wanting schools back full time, while teachers’ unions are threatening to strike. Schools in many areas of the U.S. go back in August, while schools in B.C. go back in September. Also, the virus is still surging in many parts of the U.S., while it is largely under control in B.C.
- The Vancouver Parks Board has approved a pilot project to allow drinking in 22 parks in the city. They have directed staff to apply for licences to allow concessions to sell beer, cider and coolers.
- The 2020 Emmy nominations were announced, but it’s unknown whether the September 20 event will be online or in person.
- A covid-19 outbreak has hit Haida Gwaii. As of Wednesday, there were 20 cases, all believed to be among residents, at least one of whom returned to the community.
- B.C.’s Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry modified her orders for accommodations. Going forward, the number of people in a hotel room or houseboat or other short-term rental accommodation may only hold its capacity (for example, four guests), plus five visitors.
- There is a new community outbreak at Fraser Valley Packing, a blueberry packing site in Abbotsford. There are 59 linked cases, Dr. Henry said Thursday.
- Spain is having a coronavirus resurgence and Britain has imposed a 14-day quarantine on travellers arriving from Spain.
- Google will have most of its employees working from home at least until July 2021.
- Major League Baseball’s comeback hit a snag when 19 people with the Miami Marlins tested positive for the coronavirus. They played against the Philadelphia Phillies, knowing they had four positive cases.
- Fifteen international flights arriving in Vancouver since June 3 have had at least one person with covid-19 on board, while 16 domestic flights have had at least one case, the BC CDC reports. Anyone on the flights must self-isolate for 14 days. Dr. Henry was asked if any positive cases have been linked to these flights and she said there have been, but it is difficult to tell whether the people contracted the virus before boarding the flight or on the flight.
- Canada tightened the so-called "Alaska loophole," limiting the number of border crossings where Americans headed for Alaska can enter Canada and requiring them to add a tag to their licence plates.
Meanwhile, the virus continues at a low hum here in B.C. This week, there were 201 new cases and four new deaths. Just five people are in hospital, the lowest number since mid-March. Let’s hope the same is true next week.
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