Dear New Yorkers,  

Two years have passed since the first COVID-19 lockdowns went into effect in New York City, yet relatively little still has been written about the gendered impacts of the pandemic and ensuing recession locally, and what must be done to ensure the city’s recovery is shared equally across lines of gender, race, immigration status, disability and geography.

Understanding the inequities that the pandemic exacerbated is critical to ensure that the policy decisions and investments we make now not only lift up those who need it the most, but also that they address the most persistent challenges that disproportionately impact women. 

Our office took a look at the data, in partnership with Councilmembers Tiffany Cabán and Shahana Hanif, and will be discussing what the numbers show us and what actions the City can take to build a recovery that uplifts women at our virtual event tomorrow night. Register here to join us. 

Approximately 220,000 women left the labor force in the first two quarters of 2020. While women’s labor force participation in New York City has, as of the last quarter of 2021, returned to pre-pandemic levels, unemployment remains high, particularly among Black women. The pandemic has pushed an already fragile and fragmented safety net to its limits, leaving women most at the margins–low-income, undocumented, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, women with disabilities, and women-headed households with children–without sustained or sufficient resources to navigate the resulting economic and logistical challenges we’re still facing today. 

Our event tomorrow will include a dynamic panel of advocates and issue experts discussing the  gendered impacts of the pandemic in NYC, and how the City’s budget could pave the way for a just and feminist recovery. RSVP here to join us.

I look forward to talking about that and so much more tomorrow night.

Hope to see you there,
 
Brad