'I am better mom': After quitting their jobs during the pandemic to care for family, here's how it changed these women

NEW YORK — More than 2.2 million women left the U.S. workforce since the start of the pandemic. Last fall, there were 1.6 million fewer mothers in the labor force than would be expected without COVID-19-related school closures, according to an analysis by Ernie Tedeschi, an economist at the investment banking advisory firm Evercore.

Working mothers have long faced "the second shift" – coming home to unpaid work that includes household labor and child care – and the pandemic has heightened the caregiver burden with children learning at home instead of returning to school. 

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Women inch towards equal legal rights despite COVID-19 risks, World Bank says

(Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Women gained legal rights in nearly 30 countries last year despite disruption due to COVID-19, but governments must do more to ease the disproportionate burden shouldered by women during the pandemic, the World Bank said on Tuesday.

Nations should prioritise gender equality in economic recovery efforts, the bank said, warning that progress on equal rights was threatened by heavier job losses in female-dominated sectors, increased childcare and a surge in domestic violence. 

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