At 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, I got a text message saying my children’s school in D.C. would close the next day for a deep cleaning. I'm a single mom and am lucky to have caregiving and extended family support in moments like this, but I'm also viscerally aware of what other single mothers go through. The note made me realize just how hard the COVID-19 pandemic is going to hit women.

Since the first schools shuttered in Washington State last Monday, widespread school closure seems inevitable.