Officials Listening To Women About How To Help Their Businesses During The Pandemic
ROBBINSDALE, Minn. (WCCO) -- The pandemic has disproportionately affected employment for women, particularly women of color. More than two million women have left the workforce since February of last year.
Now, Minnesota officials are working to create equity, starting with listening to women.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Department of Employment and Economic Development Commissioner Steve Grove hosted a roundtable Tuesday with women business owners, who shared their stories of success and hardship during the pandemic.
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In the first three months of the pandemic, the unemployment rate for women jumped by more than 12 percentage points, while men saw a difference of less than 10%.
In December, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that women accounted for all of the net jobs lost -- 156,000 compared to 10,000 net jobs gained by men.
According to the women speaking on the panel, the problem is multifaceted. They say women left the workforce last year because of the cost of child care and because they are often the ones doing the "unpaid work" of caring for elderly family members.
On top of this, women have tended to make less than men. Also, they don't have the same business literacy to navigate their way amid a pandemic as an entrepreneur.
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One of the speakers on Tuesday's panel was Alex West Steinman, the co-founder of Coven, a community space aimed at empowering women to lead in business. She said she'd like to see the state offering more grants to struggling businesses instead of loans.
Tuesday's panel was just one of many that officials plan to learn from before promising to act in creating equity. The lieutenant governor says the state has been treating these issues too long with "Minnesota Nice" and it's time to do something.