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Smart Talk: COVID’s economic impact hitting women harder

  • Scott LaMar
  • Merideth Bucher
Millions of jobs have been lost as businesses keep their doors closed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Working women have been hit hardest, accounting for nearly 60% of the early job cuts.

 AP Images

Millions of jobs have been lost as businesses keep their doors closed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Working women have been hit hardest, accounting for nearly 60% of the early job cuts.

Listen to Smart Talk every weekday at 9am and 7pm on WITF 89.5 & 93.3. You can also stream WITF radio live on our website or ask your smart speaker to “Play WITF Radio.”

Airdate: Friday, February 19, 2021

Women around the country are experiencing the economic impact of COVID at a rate substantially higher than men.

This is due in large part to the shortage or absence of childcare, forcing women to make a choice between working or caring for their families. Also, women are disproportionately represented in low-wage jobs, which is especially problematic if they are the sole earner in the family.

This is one of the topics that will be addressed on Mentoring Monday, an annual women’s networking event that seeks to connect women.

Cate Barron, is the President of PA Media Group who own and publish The Patriot News and the digital PennLive, and she joins Smart Talk Friday to share details of the women’s networking event. Also on Smart Talk Friday is former CNN correspondent and Pulitzer Prize winning Journalist Sara Ganim who will deliver the keynote on the economic impact on women.

42 Today: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy 

Jackie Robinson is remembered as the African-American who broke baseball’s color barrier in 1947 when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson not only became a sports hero, but he used also his status as a pioneer to blaze a trail for other Black Americans in all walks of life and became a civil rights icon.

Michael G. Long has written several books on Robinson, civil rights and nonviolent protests. Long discusses his latest book on Friday’s Smart Talk, 42 Today: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy.

What is causing gas prices to rise?

Gas prices are rising. In Pennsylvania, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is $2.87 — that’s up 19 cents from last month and 21 cents from this time last year.

What’s driving the price increases and what will prices do in the coming weeks?

Smart Talk is joined by Patrick De Haan Head of Petroleum Analysis, Fuel Insights.

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