Thread by @stephenfgordon

A thread that would have been a column, if I were still writing columns:

Recessions have always been about men. Men have always borne the brunt of job losses, and male-dominated industries are the focus of standard stimulus packages. 1/

And the economics field that informs discussion about how to react to recessions - macroeconomics - is more heavily represented by men than pretty much every other specialty.

Maybe this follows from the first point; I don't know. 2/

But this is different. Women have seen their jobs/hours disappear more than men have, and they are harder hit by the extra (unpaid) burden of taking care of children that had been at school or daycare. 3/

The traditional recession recipe of infrastructure is a cruel joke. Construction is already working flat-out, and it has nothing to offer women who have lost their service sector jobs. Especially those with school-age children. 4/

The policy response to the economic effects of the pandemic should be dominated by women. They are dealing with the worst of its effects, and women also happen to be relatively more present in the relevant areas of economics: labour and public economics. 5/

We can do with fewer hot, contrarian takes from dudes.

This isn't about us. 6/6