As well as marking one year since the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic, last March simultaneously celebrated Women’s History Month. This month has been dedicated to celebrate the accomplishments achieved by women, from the Seneca Falls Convention to the swearing-in of the very first woman as vice president of the United States. While women continue to break barriers, it is also important to recognize the prevalent obstacles that still exist, one of which being the status of women in the workforce during and after the coronavirus pandemic.

In April 2020, the United States unemployment rate reached 14.8 percent — its peak since the end of the Great Depression. A month later, the unemployment rate for women reached 14.3 percent while the unemployment rate for men reached 11.9 percent. Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, it has been reported that nearly 3 million women in the United States have exited the labor force, with the lack of child care being one major reason for this departure. With the shift to online schooling and child care programs temporarily closing or completely shutting down, mothers have been facing no option but to leave their jobs in order to care for their families.

While the short-term effects have been felt by many families across the country since last March, the effects this pandemic will have on the status of women in the workforce will most likely last for years to come due to the sheer extent of women who have exited the workforce in the past year alone. Economically, it is estimated that $64.5 billion could be lost in wages per year if mothers continue to leave the labor force or reduce their hours to assume child care responsibilities. However, in regards to its social and cultural impact, it most likely will take even longer to recover from this shock. Historically, women have been considered default caregivers, usually receiving no pay for their 24/7 jobs of raising children. It was found that women are eight times more likely than men to sacrifice time from their workday to care for a sick child or manage their children’s activities. With many mothers leaving their jobs and reverting back to the role of full-time caregivers this past year, outdated ideologies regarding the role of women, in general, may reemerge stronger than before.

While it is not expected anytime soon that a massive movement to push all women out of the workforce and completely reinstate their roles as caregivers or homemakers will emerge, the effect this pandemic has already had will have more silent repercussions pushing women’s progress back. The most damaging repercussions expected include the attitude that women, especially mothers, are more dispensable than men in their jobs, as well as the attitude that women’s roles as caregivers for children is a default expectation. The effect of this expectation on family structure is important to take into account as well, especially considering that the very children that are being taken care of will eventually make up the next generation of parents who will establish their own structures of familial expectations and responsibilities.

What is also just as damaging is the effect this pandemic can have on future progress related to women and mothers in the workforce. One prevalent issue that, frankly, is still incomprehensible, is the fight toward equal pay. The gender pay gap still exists in the United States, with women making 82 cents for every dollar made by men. For women of color, the pay gap is even wider, with 2018 data from the Census Bureau finding Black women making 62 cents, Hispanic/Latino women making 54 cents and Asian women making 90 cents for every dollar made by men. Yet with millions of women leaving the workforce, other challenges with regard to supporting mothers so that they are able to return will be added to the list of labor force obstacles women must face. Another prevalent issue which could be facing delays is the establishment of universal child care. While the pandemic has certainly highlighted its importance, other economic strains imposed by the pandemic could potentially brush the topic of universal child care aside. Until it can be guaranteed either through the workplace or federally, those mothers who wish to return to the labor force may face delays until pre-pandemic conditions can be established again.

So as we take time to reflect on how much our lives have changed in the past year, let’s also keep in mind the additional challenges posed to a subpopulation that makes up roughly half of the United States — women. While we may be starting to return to “normal,” the lasting effects the coronavirus pandemic will have on the role of women and mothers in the workforce is a serious issue that demands direct attention from political, economic and social fronts.

Sana Malik is a junior double-majoring in biology and philosophy, politics and law.