Essential Equity: Women, Covid-19, and Rebuilding CT

Covid-19 has revealed the inequities and injustices that perpetuate the systems in Connecticut. This blog post highlights the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on women and girls (particularly, women and girls of color). We urge policymakers, government officials, philanthropists, non-profit service providers, corporations, and community members to use this information to work towards equity through relief and recovery efforts. Click the buttons below to explore the data on our interactive platform or to read the full report.

Covid-19

Females have experienced higher case and death rates compared. to males

54% of cases were experienced by females, compared to 46% by males

52% of deaths were experienced by females, compared to 48% by males

People of color have experienced disproportionate impacts compared to white people.

46% of Hispanic and 42% of Black residents knew someone who tested positive, compared to 30% of white residents

20% of Black and 15% of Hispanic residents knew someone who died from Covid-19, compared to 12% of white residents

Economic Security

Covid-19 has exacerbated economic inequities experienced by females prior to the pandemic.

176K continued unemployment claims were filed by females during the peak month of May 2020, compared to 142K claims filed by males

48% of the female labor force work in “essential worker” industries, making up 78% of the healthcare, 67% of the education, and 56% of the food service workforces

Females of color have struggled with economic and financial insecurity more than white females.

43% of continued claims and 36% of initial unemployment claims filed by females during the pandemic were by females of color, who comprise a smaller share of the workforce

1 in 5 females of color reported difficulty in meeting their usual expenses during the pandemic

Child Care

Child care providers have attempted to remain open and families that cannot find or afford child care are trying to balance child care and work.

3 in 4 private child care providers have closed during the pandemic, heavily impacting an industry where 92% of businesses are female-owned

76% of parents reporting needing to stay home and not work due to child care were females, compared to 24% who were males

Families of color are more likely to live in a child care desert, leading to the difficult choice of staying home for child care or going to work.

1 in 20 families of color can afford high-quality child care, compared to 1 in 5 families in the overall population

Housing

Families are reporting increased housing instability.

13% of females are estimated to be behind on their rent or mortgage

1 in 5 females feel slight or no confidence in their ability to pay their rent or mortgage in the coming month

females of color are feeling the impact of increased housing instability more than white females.

20% of Black and 18% of Hispanic females are estimated to be behind on their rent or mortgage, compared to 10% of white females

1 in 3 females who reported their race or ethnicity as Black or Other feel slight or no confidence in their ability to pay their rent or mortgage in the coming month, compared to 1 in 7 white females

Mental Health

A higher percentage of females have reported mental health challenges compared to males.

70% of females reported feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge during the pandemic, compared to 59% of males

52,743 calls to Connecticut 211 for mental health services were made in 2020

Females of color reported higher rates of mental health challenges compared to white females.

3 in 4 Hispanic females reported feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge during the pandemic

77% of females who reported their race or ethnicity as Other reported feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge in Fall 2020, an increase of 20% from Spring 2020

For More Information

If you are interested to learn more about Covid-19 data, check out our Covid-19 portal and Covid-19 blog posts. For training and tips on how to use data to inform your personal and professional life, register for one of our CTData Academy workshops or browse our blog. You can keep up with all our updates by subscribing to our newsletter and following us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.