Unequally Essential: Women and the Gender Pay Gap During COVID-19

Women represent majority of workers in several essential occupations. Learn more in this America Counts story.

America Counts: Stories Behind the Numbers Unequally Essential: Women and the Gender Pay Gap During COVID-19 Thirty-four million women work in jobs officially classified as essential; and women represent the majority of workers in several occupations, including health care, education, personal care and sales and office occupations. Because women make up a large portion of the essential workforce, they have played a critical role in the U.S. economy and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Read More Despite women's substantial presence in essential jobs, the disparity between total median earnings for women and men exists across occupations deemed essential. Equal Pay Day — timed to represent how far into the year women must work to equal what men earned the previous year — is on March 24 this year. That's earlier than it's ever been since its inception in 1996. Last year, it occurred on March 31. In 2019, women earned 82 cents to every dollar earned by men. In addition to Women's History Month, it is an important reminder that the gender pay gap is narrowing but continues. Continue reading to learn more about: Who are essential workers? Your health care is in women's hands Teachers and child care workers Keeping our stores open Help us spread the word about America Counts. Share this story on social media or forward it to a friend. Share This You May Be Interested A Profile of the Retail Workforce: The nation's 9.8 million retail workers accounted for 6.3% of the U.S. labor force. Learn More About America Counts America Counts tells the stories behind the numbers in a new inviting way. It features stories on various topics such as families, housing, employment, business, education, economy, emergency preparedness, health, population, income and poverty. Contact our Public Information Office for media inquiries or interviews. Don't miss an America Counts story! Subscribe here.

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