Gov. Kathy Hochul orders study on how COVID affected women in the workplace

NEW YORK - Gov. Kathy Hochul announced she's ordering a study on how COVID affected women in the workplace.

Hochul said she is directing the Department of Labor to hold hearings and gather testimony on the issue and explore equitable solutions.

"I want to hear from women who've been affected. I want to hear from their employers. I want to hear from everybody on how we make sure we lift women up and never, ever again go back to this dark place where women in this state and this nation bore the brunt of a global pandemic. It was unfair. We have to figure out how it happened and make sure that we have the procedures in place so women are in a far better place and don't let it happen again," she said.

The announcement came on Women's Equality Day.

The day was recognized by Congress in 1973. It commemorates the earlier passage of the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote.