It’s Time for COVID-19 Disaster Relief … for Mothers

That next wave of COVID-19 is here and no place in the country seems safe from rapidly rising infection rates. While the effects of COVID will be felt in many social and economic sectors, the American family is about to be upended. As public schools from New York City to Denver to Los Angeles shift to remote learning, mothers are bracing for disaster.

Without necessary disaster relief, this is going to get increasingly and needlessly ugly. We must recognize that parents — and mothers in particular — are struggling to meet their dual employment and childcare responsibilities. Though many parents are juggling, women provide the majority of childcare — even in dual earner households. Women are leaving the labor force at higher rates than men simply because they can’t do it all.