The Gendered Consequences of a Weak Infrastructure of Care: School Reopening Plans and Parents’ Employment During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended in-person public education across the United States, a critical infrastructure of care that parents—especially mothers—depend on to work. To understand nature and magnitude school closures states, we collected detailed primary data—the Elementary School Operating Status database (ESOS)—to measure percentage districts offering in-person, remote, hybrid instruction models for elementary schools by state in September 2020. We link these data Current Population Survey evaluate association between reopening parents’ labor force participation rates, comparing 2020 rates those observed prepandemic 2019. find that, maternal rate fell greater extent than fathers. In 2019, mothers’ was about 18 points lower fathers’. By 2020, this gap grew 5 states where offered primarily remote instruction. show are vital source young children, without instruction, mothers have been sidelined from force. longer conditions remain place, more difficult it may be fully recover prolonged spells nonemployment, resulting reduced occupational opportunities lifetime earnings.