There are so many women in such dire financial straits that, despite the long hours and poor pay, they are willing to take those jobs anyway," said one recruitment professional.
When offices, schools and day care facilities shut their doors last year in response to Covid-19, some of the people most swiftly and significantly impacted didn’t work in any of those places: nannies. Now, looking back on a tumultuous year, nannies say some things will never be the same — for better or worse.
Indispensable parts of the system for millions of middle- and upper-income families — nannies saw their jobs, economic security and sometimes even their living situations thrown into disarray. Some found themselves on the front lines of the pandemic, battling Covid-19 after contracting it from the families that employed them.
