Expert: Upstaged by Child-care Concerns, Women’s Careers in Jeopardy in COVID-19 Era

06/17/2020

Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu and Christine Gillette, 978-758-4664 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu

The gains women have made in the workplace over the past 30 years could be erased by a collapse of reliable child-care options and support systems for families brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an expert on how gender affects careers and expectations on the job.

As day care centers and summer camps grapple with getting back to business after being closed for months, many providers contend the mandated requirements under which they may resume operations are too restrictive. As a result, many may not reopen, and those that do could see their ability to care for young people greatly diminished because of strict regulations on social-distancing, cleaning and other concerns, according to UMass Lowell’s Beth Humberd. That predicament means working parents are faced with uncertainty with respect to when or if their usual options will be available and even if they are, parents must decide if such an environment will provide the care they want for their children. If families are faced with continuing to juggle managing job responsibilities without reliable supports for their children, it could have long lasting impacts, she says.

“This will set back decades of progress for women. For families, this is far more than a temporary situation, particularly as the options for fall school and after-care programs are also in limbo. Many women have already had to leave the workforce to care for their children during recent months; many others are so severely stressed by this uncertain outlook that they are considering if leaving their jobs is the only solution. When women leave a job, particularly during a time of economic downturn, it can set back their career immensely. They may never return to work,” Humberd said.

Humberd is available to discuss:

• How the resources needed to reopen day care centers and summer camps under the new guidelines may deepen the economic divide between children in wealthy and less affluent communities;
• How working from home while attempting to care for children is leaving many women feeling like they are doing neither well;
• How a lack of child-care options and reliable supports for families often places more of a burden on women, yet even working fathers who have made strides in recent years in their involvement with children will see impacts.

Humberd is an authority on gender and diversity in the workplace. She is an assistant professor of management in UMass Lowell’s Manning School of Business and an associate in the university’s Center for Women and Work who teaches courses on topics including organizational behavior and managing a diverse workplace.

To arrange an interview with Humberd via phone, email or teleconference, contact Nancy Cicco at Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or 978-934-4944 or Christine Gillette at Christine_Gillette@uml.edu or 978-758-4664.