The American workforce is a matriarchy

[marmar]

The American workforce is a matriarchy
As moms are driving the growth in America's labor market, it's time for major investments in early childcare

By Sara Estep
Published May 10, 2026 9:00AM (EDT)


(Salon) This year, for only the third time in American history, employed women outnumbered employed men. That shift has been beneficial for women, especially — and surprisingly — for mothers of young children. To maintain that momentum, it’s more important than ever to ensure quality childcare is readily available and accessibly priced.

Women with young kids are more likely to be in the workforce than ever before, a shift due in part to the country’s cost-of-living crisis. This phenomenon of having more employed women than men also reflects a gradual shift in the labor market: The industry composition is moving away from traditionally male-dominated blue-collar occupations and more toward healthcare work. Many experts are also pointing to childcare access and telework options as important factors for women’s labor force participation.

But despite what some may suggest, I don’t think telework plays a significant factor in the current labor market story. As a labor economist who spends most of my time crunching numbers about how gender interacts with the labor market, I think the data suggests that women are charging ahead in part thanks to childcare support that became more readily available during the Covid-19 pandemic.

We have to look at this trend in rising female employment through the lens of that time and experience. Mothers were hit hard by the pandemic shutdown, and their participation in the labor force plummeted in the spring of 2020. Many moms didn’t recover until nearly two years later, and their maternal scream still echoed across the media landscape long after the world first ground to a halt. School closures put parents — mostly women — in a bind. Moms were more likely than dads and non-parents to leave the workforce to care for their kids who were stuck at home studying remotely. ..................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2026/05/10/the-american-workforce-is-a-matriarchy/

[mopinko]

1. ssshhhhh. dont tell the regressives.

that party will clamp down somehow.