COVID-19 is hard on women because the U.S. economy is hard on women, and this virus excels at taking existing tensions and ratcheting them up. Millions of women were already supporting themselves and their families on meager wages before coronavirus-mitigation lockdowns sent unemployment rates skyrocketing, and millions of jobs disappeared. In addition, working mothers were already shouldering the majority of family caregiving responsibilities in the face of a childcare system that is wholly inadequate for a society in which most parents work outside the home. As Spectrum News showcases Women’s History Month, we feature women on the frontlines of COVID-19, the impact, and how they are making a difference in the fight to conquer a pandemic.

GUESTS:

• Susan Marano, Crisis Travel Nurse
• Dr.  Leandra Preston-Sidler, Senior Lecturer of Women's and Gender Studies, University of Central Florida
• Mary Mayhew, Secretary of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) / President & CEO, Florida Hospital Association