The number of women in the workforce overtook men for a brief period earlier this year. But the uncomfortable truth is that in their homes, women are still fitting into stereotypical roles of doing the bulk of cooking, cleaning and parenting. It's another form of systemic inequality within a 21st century home that the pandemic is laying bare. Malte Mueller/fStop/Getty Images hide caption
Joyce Chen, an associate professor of development economics at Ohio State University, has had to put her research on hold this year to oversee her children's virtual schooling. Chen is also teaching virtually this fall. Jessica Phelps for NPR hide caption
Farida Mercedes and her two sons Sebastian, 5, (left) and Lucas, 7, stand in their backyard in Fairlawn, N.J. Mercedes left her job as an assistant VP of HR at L'Oreal in August after working there for 17 years. As hundreds of thousands of women dropped out of the workforce in September, Latinas led the way, leaving at nearly three times the rate of white women. Erica Seryhm Lee for NPR hide caption
Heather Wilcox-Nicholls lost her job with Mattress Firm during the pandemic. She had been with the company for about five years and was about to take on a new store as a manager. Krista Rossow for NPR hide caption
Ellen Griffin is a single mom with two kids in Birmingham, Ala. Tamika Moore for NPR hide caption
Couples are struggling to redefine their own roles as they look to navigate a pandemic that has upended many aspects of domestic life. Nicole Xu for NPR hide caption
Will Station, a vice president at Boeing, with his wife April, and children, Jaden and Taylor, on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2020, near their home in Newcastle, Wash. During the pandemic, Station has put in more hours at home and is spending more time with his family. Jovelle Tamayo for NPR hide caption
The obstacles and hardships facing working mothers are not new, but the pandemic has given them more visibility. SDI Productions/Getty Images hide caption
Increased household responsibilities during the pandemic have forced many working mothers to scale back on their hours or to leave the workforce entirely. ljubaphoto/Getty Images hide caption
Last month, women left jobs at four times the rate that men did. A new school year with children staying home instead of returning to classrooms in person led many women to drop out of the workforce. Tom Werner/DigitalVision/Getty Images hide caption