Women are far more likely than men to have lost their jobs during the economic shutdown caused by coronavirus, according to a new survey by the Harris Poll and Yahoo Finance.
Nearly all men between the ages of 35 and 44 (96%) were still working the same job as before the pandemic compared to only 60% of women the same age.
“That difference, among others found in the survey, could mean it will take longer for women to recuperate from the pandemic’s economic effects — if they ever fully do,” says Yahoo Finance writer Denitsa Tsekova in an article on the Harris website.
Women also are more likely to say their job loss is permanent. Just 1% of men between 35 and 54 report a permanent job loss, versus 8% of women between 35 and 44 and 4% of women between 45 and 54.
The reason, according to Tsekova, is women are more likely to work in sectors like state, local government, and education that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
Additionally, the poll found that remote work is more available for male workers than female ones, with 86% of men between the ages of 34 and 45 reporting work-from-home as an option compared with only 54% of their female counterparts. For those between 44 and 55 years old, the difference was much narrower: Just under half of men (47%) could work remotely versus 44% of women.
