Trump’s failed coronavirus response has devastated American women. Women comprise a majority of the job losses during the pandemic. The economic fallout from Trump’s erratic, incomplete response has already exacerbated existing inequities between women in the workforce and their male counterparts. The situation is even worse for women of color, who already faced pay inequity and systemic disparities within the American workforce, and are facing devastating job losses while also making up a large portion of the essential workers in nursing homes, hospitals, and grocery stores.

“While attacking protections for people with preexisting conditions and relentlessly opposing efforts to ensure equal pay for equal work, Trump has also managed to botch the coronavirus response and run the strong Obama-Biden economy into the ground,” said DNC Women’s Caucus Chair Lottie Shackelford. “It didn’t have to be this bad, but Trump’s failed leadership in a time of crisis has left American women struggling to stay afloat. And as is often the case, the situation is even more dire for Black women and women of color, who are facing a devastating unemployment crisis. It didn’t have to be this bad, and women will remember these failures when we hold Trump accountable for his inaction.”

Women comprise a majority of the job losses during coronavirus and disproportionately work in jobs that require close contact and cannot be done remotely. 

• More women than men lost their jobs from February to May, 11.5 million vs. 9.0 million

• Nearly 1.7 million Black women are out of work

• Women are about 77% of workers in jobs such as food service and health care support that require close personal contact and cannot easily be done remotely

Pregnant women are at particular risk of hospitalization from coronavirus. 

• Pregnant women are more likely to face serious complications due to COVID-19, and are at a higher risk of hospitalization, according to the CDC.

Women aren’t represented on the coronavirus task force.

• There are 27 members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, but only two are women: Dr. Deborah Birx and Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.