Our Chicago: Town hall examines 'shecession,' impact of pandemic recession on working women
ABC7's Leah Hope moderates
CHICAGO (WLS) -- ABC 7, Chicago's No. 1 station for news, presented a virtual town hall examining the significant impact of COVID-19 on rising unemployment numbers for women and communities of color.
ABC 7 reporter Leah Hope moderated "OUR CHICAGO: Voices of the Community," an hourlong event available on abc7chicago.com, Thursday, March 11, at 2:00 p.m.
According to a recent Federal Reserve article, women have faced higher unemployment rates than men during the pandemic, in part because COVID-19 has hit sectors with large percentages of female workers, particularly in the service industry. With schools closed and homes becoming the new classroom, approximately one-third of working mothers were considering taking a leave of absence in order to facilitate their children's educational needs. Some women faced dropping out of the workforce entirely or cutting back hours. With affordable childcare often out of reach, many women had to choose between working and taking care of their families at home.
ABC 7's Leah Hope will do a deep dive into the high rate of unemployed women during this pandemic and will talk with community leaders about the services, resources, assistance and advocacy programs available to support working women. They will also talk about the major overall impact on the economy when women, voluntarily or involuntarily, exit the workforce.
Guest panelists:
-Felicia Davis, Chicago Foundation for Women
-Cherita Ellens, Women Employed
-Dorri McWhorter, YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago
-Anna Lee, The Chicago Community Trust
The virtual town hall was also exclusively streamed live on ABC 7's Facebook Live, YouTube, ABC 7's app and ABC 7's connected TV apps on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV and Roku.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/abc7chicago
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abc7Chicago/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abc7Chicago/
PREVIOUS TOWN HALLS:
Our Chicago: A Conversation About 'Black, Latino Houses Matter' Program
Our Chicago: A Conversation About Vaccine Efforts
Our Chicago: Voices of the Community town hall examines discriminatory effects of redlining
Our Chicago: Voices of the Community town hall on COVID and the vaccine in the Latinx community
ABC 7 Chicago hosts digital town hall on bullying prevention moderated by Karen Jordan
Do You Hear Me? A Discussion about Race on July 16, 2020: Hosted by Cheryl Burton, on violence
About ABC7/WLS-TV Chicago
ABC7/WLS-TV Chicago is the No. 1 local news source and most-watched television station in Chicago. With top-rated daily newscasts spanning decades and the largest social media presence in the market with more than 2.3 million Facebook followers, ABC7 Eyewitness News provides breaking news, investigative reporting, weather, politics, traffic and sports in the multiplatform space to Chicago, the suburbs and northwest Indiana. Named Best News Operation by the Associated Press for four consecutive years, the station produces 41 hours of local news weekly and Chicago's only local weekday entertainment talk show, "Windy City LIVE," as well as its highest-rated New Year's Eve special. ABC7's award-winning programs such as "Heart and Soul," "The Ñ Beat" and "Asian Influences" showcase the city's diversity, while being the only Chicago station producing and broadcasting parades representing Chicago's rich cultural history. In addition to producing town halls focused on current social issues, the station has a long and proud tradition of broadcasting political candidate debates keeping Chicago's electorate informed. ABC7's outreach efforts include annual partnerships with the Red Cross for life-saving blood drives and, most recently, spearheading an effort to raise more than $1.5 million for area food pantries.
