Caregiving Crisis: Dismal jobs end to 2020, big media put forth big packages of stories
If the news is written in first-person and couched as news for women or parents, is the tree even making a sound as it screams helplessly in the woods?
Hey everyone,
Thanks for joining me for the inaugural issue of the Caregiver Crisis. It’s jobs day and this week some major media outlets launched a litany of news about caregivers that will have you nodding in agreement but wondering – what now?
Who am I? I’m passionate about these issues, an obsessive professional consumer of the media and former reporter and editor. And like so many of you: a full-time worker, a manager, a Zoom background stylist, apparently a kindergarten teacher, chef, housekeeper, driver, social coordinator, CEO and CFO of my household.
Also like so many of you, I’m tired and pissed off. And I was that way before the pandemic. Caregivers are in crisis. Our society doesn’t support us and the pandemic has made it abundantly clear. But it’s also a chance to reset.
Why this newsletter? We caregivers do not have time to understand the broader toll and implications as millions of women and minorities leave the workforce. This will have profound effects for years on our livelihoods and those of our families and our children. The people in power don’t seem to be paying attention. We should be. So I’ll aim to summarize developments each week (Maybe. Probably. Hopefully.) Knowledge is power — the more we know, the more we can do. At the least, I hope you read through this and feel that you’re not alone.
What To Know About the Caregiving Crisis This Week
AMERICAN WOMEN END 2020 DOWN SIX MILLION JOBS – The latest monthly jobs report, for January, came out this morning and it puts a dismal cap on 2020 with some full-year overviews. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports there were 70.9 million women on payrolls in December – that's down about 7% from where they started the year, at 76.2 million in January 2020. Last January was particularly stunning because for only the second time ever, women outnumbered men in the American workforce. Going into 2020, women made up 50.04% of payroll jobs. It was big exciting news , largely attributed to growth in two sectors that employ a lot of women: Health care and education. Say it with me: essential workers. Ugh.
Media right now are focusing on the overall jobs number for the month, that 49,000 jobs were added. Gender break down isn't even appearing in breaking stories by WSJ or NYT. You won’t see any media give prominence to the story of the total jobs devastation for women last year for awhile. Can you imagine if it was 6 million men out of the workforce? (See Stanley gif above.) We’ll be watching.
Bottom line: Now that we know the extent of the jobs devastation for women last year - will the new class of lawmakers consider taking action?
BIG MEDIA ARE STARTING TO PAY ATTENTION - This week saw significant packages about the toll of the pandemic on women and their careers by New York Magazine/The Cut and the New York Times. It’s all overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time.
New York Magazine/The Cut – Women make the cover (below) of New York Magazine’s Feb. 1 issue. Significant reporting and storytelling to unpack the statistics and stories of everyday women.
The Breaking Point Thirteen women on being driven from the workforce.
“My supervisors gave me an ultimatum: Come in to work or be let go.” - A 39-year-old retail worker and caretaker to an 8-year-old in Georgia.
New York Times – The publication's 'The Primal Scream' effort churns out a series of stories looking at the crisis. We give kudos to the NYT for launching the series, which "examines the pandemic's effect on working mothers in America.” It also includes a phone number you can call to scream into: 212-556-3800. (Better than the void?) Headlines from today include:
Working Moms Are Struggling. Here's What Would Help. (We’ll unpack efforts to help in our next issue.)
And many more. Looks like it’s all going to be in print on Sunday. Section F. (For a word we’ve all been saying nonstop?)
Bottom line: It's heartening to see big-name media outlets paying attention, but if the news is written in first-person and couched as news for women or parents, is the tree even making a sound as it screams helplessly in the woods? Why isn’t this being covered as the economic news it so very rightly is?
Signing off
I was originally going to do ‘five things you need to know’ about this week. But you know what? We don’t have time for that. This briefing will evolve as we go. Thanks for reading and hang in there. Please send thoughts, articles, gifs, recipes — any and all feedback.
Caregiving Crisis is a newsletter written by Emily Fredrix Goodman. We aim to publish weekly but other things may get in the way.