Covid-19 pandemic worsens the US gender pay gap, with women losing out

The coronavirus pandemic will likely make the gender pay gap worse as the US economy recovers but could ultimately improve opportunities for women, according to a paper distributed by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

In a regular recession, the pay gap between men and women shrinks by two percentage points as men tend to get hit harder by job losses, according to the paper published this month. But in a pandemic recession, that gap increases by five percentage points, the report said.

Women are more vulnerable to the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic because they are more likely then men