The COVID-19 public health crisis and the economic crisis that followed underscored the U.S. economy's dependence on unpaid and paid care work. Women dropped out of the labor force in large numbers partly because of household childcare needs due to daycare and school closures and the unavail-ability of after-school programs. The pandemic made hypervisible the disproportionate care-work burden of women and how it constrains mothers’ labor force participation in an institutional context where childcare services are unavailable. It also made visible inequalities among women, in terms of both the vulnerability to job losses and the ability to reconcile care for family while earning a living.
