You're listening to Comedy Central. The COVID nineteen pandemic has ravaged the US economy, with millions out of work, and much like underwire and microblading, it's disproportionately hurting women. Economist Olga Sharkoff told me why. Since the February about two and a half million women left the workforce. Two and a half million. That's right, wasn't that job loss of Wow?
Even when it comes to unemployment, women are overachieving. For decades, women have been chipping away at the blast ceiling, joining the labor force in greater numbers with each year until the pandemic, which has reduced the percentage of working women to nineteen levels. The question is why is this happening? While my interview with Dr Darashawna mat Lingam provided one compelling reason why the pandemic is one of the reasons that I just needed to step back from my research.
We lost childcare for several months. Um, sorry, I can, I couldn't quite hear. There was a bit of a leg something in the background. Um, that's my three year old sons with a Lego train car. So sorry, hold, I know it's it's my I think it's my background is that the trash impactor. They're better not be any
Ninjagos in there. There were Ninjagos in there. Thanks to school closures and childcare disruptions, mothers are stepping back from the workforce in large numbers, and not because they want to. I think we really need to move away from this idea of personal choice. If you have to choose between bringing home a paycheck to feed your family and you know, avoiding a deadly disease, that's not a choice. No, it's
it's not. And it doesn't matter if you're young, old, black, white, or that slick bitch and the next apartment that keeps eyeing my husband. This affects you. My research has been focused on infectious disease and incarcerated populations, and so I were looking at sort of how can we improve testing and support for these individ jewels who are very vulnerable to getting infected. So you were researching COVID and you had to take a step back. Yeah, I mean it
was a very difficult decision. God, think of all that you could have accomplished in this past year if you had full time COVID safe child care, Like I know for me, I just know I would have been able to finish my one woman show from home hom Alton. My whole life is in this room where it happens. This room where it happens, This room where it happens. Yeah, art is important. So millions of women have just been a year stuck at home workshopping our dream projects with
our kids instead of with audiences or producers. And much like a stoned Elon Musk tweet, this could affect the whole economy. Women leaving the workforce means that these women are now losing the skills that they had and becoming less productive, and so that could affect actually, um they empire economy and economic growth for years to come. Even when and who are still working are experiencing sort of hidden burdens that they're doing this dual role. They no, no,
you can't have a snack. You just say you can't have a snack. They have to work and at the same time take care of their children, and so there are also mental health repercussions. Something's gotta given. No, he can't know he can't have a snack. So how do we fix this before moms across America just lose it? Asking for a friend. I can't. No, you can't. Yeah, you know what, you have a snack, Have a snack,
Have all the snacks. Dr Churchkov says it's going to take a lot of work COVID ning highlight and an exacerbated longstanding structural gender and racial and ethnic gaps that need to be addressed, and not to mention women. I think have learned. Yes, oh my goodness, you want me to google. We're looking up a Pokemon, which is my other new PhD level area of extra tief. Um so where was I? Yes, if we would like to see things yet better, we need institutions policymakers to pay attention
to childcare and expand access to childcare. Shoot, I had a question off of that. Actually, sorry made my producer Sarah, the question of women. Haven't I definitely haven't written down in here. I remember when we came up to that question. Yeah. Sorry, but yeah, you get your handsful. It's okay, Oh boy, okay, I'm prepared. Mommy's working well. One thing is certain the pandemic has shown is that the system is broken and women need institutional support. Something has to be done, probably
by someone who doesn't have kids at home. The daily Show with Trevor Noah Ears Edition. Subscribe to the Daily Show on YouTube for exclusive contents, and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount Plus. This has been a Comedy Central podcast