About 4 times as many women than men reported they were unemployed last month

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About 4 times as many women than men reported they were unemployed last month
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  • Four times as many women than men have left the workforce in September, according to a new report from The 19th, a nonprofit newsroom covering gender and politics.
  • About 865,000 women in the country reported in September that they were no longer employed, compared to 216,000 men, the report said.
  • The massive discrepancy between the number of men and women who left the workforce illustrates how women are largely struggling to stay afloat as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
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Four times as many women than men have left the workforce in September, according to a new report.

About 865,000 women in the country reported in September that they were no longer employed, compared to 216,000 men, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data reported by The 19th, a nonprofit news organization focusing on gender and politics.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics said the country added 661,000 jobs in September.

The massive discrepancy between the number of men and women who left the workforce is a testament to the fact that women are struggling to stay afloat as the coronavirus pandemic rages on, the report said.

The retail and hospitality industries, which are primarily made up of women, have been hit particularly hard by the devastating effects brought on by the coronavirus, according to the report.

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Around the country, childcare centers and schools have closed to limit the spread of the coronavirus, further exacerbating the inequality between men and women. Childcare responsibilities still fall widely on women, and these factors can make it even more difficult to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

"Women tend to be more in the essential workers positions, and those are the ones that often cannot be done from home. They need to go out," said Liz Elting, founder and CEO of the Elizabeth Elting Foundation, in an interview with Business Insider. Elting's foundation launched a multi-million dollar fund for pandemic relief.

"Or their positions have been eliminated, in which they're not earning money, which is a problem. If they are able to work from home, they have kids to take care of with quarantining and home-schooling going on, and the work is basically falling on women," Elting said. "So it's a very difficult time for women, whether they do need to go out and risk their lives to take care of their families or if they're at home earning a living and trying to take care of their family."

Overall, unemployment dropped by 7.7% for all women, according to US Bureau of Labor and Statistics data. But among those figures, women of color are affected the most.

Of the near 900,000 women who reported having left the workforce in September, nore than 320,000 of them were Latina women and almost 60,000 were Black women, The 19th reported.

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Read the full report here.

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