‘No rest from the mess’: an intersectional analysis of young women’s pandemic lives in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper examines how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the everyday lives of young women living in Aotearoa New Zealand. Engaging a feminist intersectional and youth studies approach and drawing upon interviews and focus groups with 45 young women (16–25 years) from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, we reveal how culture, ethnicity, socio-economic and living conditions impacted the gendered and emotional labor expected of young women (i.e. caring for younger siblings, vulnerable family members, various chores, part-time work), and how the practices of care for others impacted young women’s capacity for their own educational, social and career development. Ultimately, this paper highlights the remarkable agency of young women during the pandemic, their compassion and empathy for others, their learnings and reflections, and how this period of radical social disruption impacted their future imaginings for themselves. In so doing, our analysis raises important questions for youth-focused pandemic educational, social and employment policies, calling for more intersectional approaches that consider how COVID-19 is continuing to significantly and unevenly shape the identity development and life trajectories of young women.