Georgia sees mass exit of moms from the workforce during COVID-19 pandemic

The National Women's Law Center reported in February that nearly 2.4 million women left the workforce since February 2020, compared with less than 1.8 million men.

A big reason -- lack of childcare options.

At the Smith household, the kitchen has turned into a fourth-grade classroom, and the dining room an office.

“It was a struggle for the first two weeks,” said Rebecca Smith, a mother of two.

Smith used to work as nursing home administrator, traveling to different facilities and advising them on better practices.

“I loved my role with the company,” said Smith. “I probably would never have left.”

The balancing act between work life and mom life became difficult. In March 2020, she began working from home to watch her 10-year-old son Ben as he transitioned to online schooling.

“And he would say, 'Oh! Are you working, mama? I'll just try and figure it out,' or, 'I'll just ask the teacher.'”

Then she decided to quit her job of seven years to focus more on Ben.

“Financial worry was a huge fear,” said Smith.

Smith and so many other women have lost their jobs or given them up to take care of their children at home.

According to the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, one reason is women made up 64% of front-line industries in 2020. This consists of retail, restaurants, health care, or any jobs that required contact with the public.

“Those were the jobs that we're impacted the most,” said President and CEO of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, Taifa Smith Butler, “So that's where you saw thousands of thousands of Georgia workers being laid off.”

Butler says schools also went online and childcare facilities closed, “And typically, women had to exit the workforce to care for their children.”

Associate Professor of Economics at Mercer University Dr. Antonio Saravia believes the combination of lower pay in service sector jobs and the need for someone to watch the kids makes it more likely that mothers leave the workforce.

“Women working in corporate America, you'll see less numbers dropping, but in the service sector, you'll see more women leaving because that's the rational decision,” said Dr. Saravia.

Butler said policy changes such as boosting women's pay and strengthening government assistance could help working moms in the future.

“We got to make sure we got a good safety net so people can stand on it when it's needed.”

Saravia said any top-down policies can be more harmful than good.

“Reduce those regulations, and that's what's going to give companies the incentive to hire.”

During this time at home, Smith turned a passion in finding and selling antiques into a full-time job.

“This is very time-consuming as well, but at least I'm here,” said Smith,

When asked if she would return to a 9 to 5 job, she said, “I'm able to be my own boss and have that flexibility -- I would not.”

We called several local companies to see if they're doing anything to help working moms return to the workforce and didn't find anything specific, but several major companies across the U.S. offer "returnship" programs, which are like internships but are meant for those who are looking to rejoin the workforce after taking time away.

The peak unemployment rate during the pandemic was April of 2020 at 13%. It's gotten better now at 5% - but not for everyone.

Women of color still face significant challenges. The GPBI reports that Black women face a 7.3% unemployment rate.