It’s been just over two years since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and it feels like much of the world has returned to normal. However, the long-reaching and long-lasting impacts of the pandemic on working moms continue to be felt. While balancing work and family obligations has long been the reality for women in the United States, the continued uncertainty around childcare and in-person instruction for school-aged children has created an even larger challenge. 

Between juggling closed daycare centers and schools while working from home, and also dealing with isolation from in-person support systems, women have shouldered the burden of motherhood in a hugely amplified way. 

“Recent U.S. census numbers show that 3.5 million mothers with school-age children left work” in spring 2021. If you talk to most working mothers, you’ll hear that many of them aren’t surprised by these numbers.

 

 

Like Jenny, I also personally dealt with a lot of struggles around consistent childcare, which is necessary as a nonprofit executive. When the pandemic hit, our daycare completely shut down in March 2020 and did not reopen until August 2021. 

 

During that time, I was grateful to be able to have a supportive job and family members who could jump in and help as needed, but without consistent, everyday childcare help my work suffered. More importantly, I began to also struggle a lot with my mental health, as the burden of trying to juggle my job and my children, while also trying to keep us all safe during a pandemic, began to take a huge toll.

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When the time came to enroll my children in daycare in 2021, I searched for months for an option that had room for both of my children and was in our price range, as many childcare facilities had completely shut down. While I was able to get my oldest (now 3 years old) into a program, they didn’t have room for my youngest. I found myself now juggling a 2-year-old at home while I worked, while also dealing with the realities of my oldest son’s preschool having to close more than once due to Covid exposures.

While many mothers were lucky during this time to now be working from home, that wasn’t the reality for millions of mothers who needed to physically show up to work to earn a paycheck. Sarita, a single mom in Raleigh, found that leaving her job as a retail cashier was her only option.

 

 

The impact of mothers leaving the workplace in mass due to the pandemic could continue to impact our workforce for years to come. Reports forecast that the US job market “could lose as many as 2 million women from the workforce… which would have a huge negative impact on gender diversity for decades to come.”

It’s important to note that for many working moms, the ability to feel supported in their careers came down largely to their employer as well as how old their children were during the pandemic. Marina, a high school teacher in Kennesaw, Georgia, and a mom to a 13-year-old had a largely positive experience.

 

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A Note From joovy to Moms

It’s easy to read all these stats, hear these stories and feel down. But hear us out: we are not powerless, it is in fact the other way around. Our stories are powerful, our words are impactful and the community we form when we talk is vital. We aim to create a safe space for moms to come and vent, feel validated, and become a part of something special.

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We want to hear from you. How did the pandemic impact your work and your career goals? Drop your story in the comments below.