: occupation, family, and gender, ” journal of economic perspectives 35 ( summer 2021 ) : 3 – 24, https : / / www. aeaweb. org / articles? id = 10. 1257 / jep. 35. 3. 3. this is one reason why female unemployment rose dramatically in comparison to male unemployment during the spring of 2020. women ’ s labor participation declined as the pandemic affected their ability to participate in the workforce. the lockdowns and layoffs in response to covid disrupted daycare centers, schools, and other organized childcare, which continue in some areas even today. traditional family supports, like extended family and grandparents, were also limited due to concerns about the virus and social distancing. another factor was that caregiving responsibilities increased significantly during the pandemic, especially for women, including those who were participating in the workforce. balancing work and family obligations has long been the reality for women. studies have shown that women spend about twice as much time caring for and helping with children than men, and there is a significant disparity in many families where both men and women work. even before the pandemic, most working mothers said they came home to a “ second shift ” of work. the pandemic served to amplify those family responsibilities, and i don ’ t think it is surprising that as a result women dropped out of the workforce at a higher rate than explained by industry - mix and labor dynamics. even more striking, the data show that while labor force exits increased for all women, they increased by more among women living with children under the age of six. 4 we saw more exits by single mothers and mothers with lower earnings at the beginning of the pandemic, perhaps because they were less able to find alternative childcare arrangements. even now, as childcare centers have reopened, worker shortages and related cost increases are limiting the number of children who can be cared for at each facility. higher childcare costs impact single katherine lim and mike zabek, “ women's labor force exits during covid - 19 : differences by motherhood, race, and ethnicity, ” finance and economics discussion series 2021 - 067 ( washington : washington : board of governors of the federal reserve system, 2021 ). https : / / doi. org / 10. 17016 / feds. 2021. 067. and lower - income mothers disproportionately. therefore, i see a risk that

be that users forget about the risks. people often complain about tedious authentication procedures, about having to memorise passwords and pins, about having to generate transaction - specific codes, etc. they would rather payments were quicker and easier. but there is a trade - off between convenience and risk. and of course, people also complain if, as a result of this risk, they are subject to fraud or breaches of data confidentiality. in order to maintain confidence in payments and trust in the currency, the eurosystem has to make sure that the right balance is struck between convenience and security. the digitalisation of retail payments services means that security requirements need to be adapted and enhanced. however, innovation brought by digitalisation should not be seen as the enemy of security. on the contrary, it can actually enhance security, as has been demonstrated by the introduction of the technical standard emv 4 for cards. in the design of security features, authorities and payment service providers are well - advised to bear in mind the users ’ need for convenience and the proportionality of the security requirements. if the security features related to a payment service are perceived as being too cumbersome, users will seek ways to circumvent them – or reject the service. conclusion to conclude, allow me to summarise the three main messages that i would like you to take home from my speech today. first, i hope that i managed to explain that for the eurosystem, the main focus as regards retail payments innovation is on pan - european retail payment solutions in euro. we should take advantage of the harmonisation and integration already achieved with the sepa project in working towards innovative payment solutions, be they instant payments, mobile payments or other payment - related services. this does not mean that we should ignore global developments or prevent local or regional initiatives from emerging. i would like to emphasise, however, that we should avoid the development of non - interoperable silo solutions. rather, the harmonisation of standards and business rules, pan - european reachability, interoperability and a harmonised legal framework are the foundations on which innovative payment solutions should be based. second, i would like to underline that the market for innovative retail payment services needs to be based on a level playing field. hurdles preventing new service providers from entering the market must be avoided. the eurosystem welcomes innovation and new market faces. at the same time, all entities providing payment services to end users should be licensed