The Pandemic Reminded Us That Most Women Still Don’t Have a Room of Their Own

The coronavirus pandemic has challenged one of the most basic structures of life for the past two centuries: the separation between home and workplace. Over the past two years, many of us have been confined to domestic spaces that were historically constructed with the assumption that women would take care of children and maintain the household rather than work outside it. These expectations have changed, yet our homes are still gendered: We sleep in “master” bedrooms and prepare food in an idealized, 5-foot-7 female body. When we think about gender equity, policy goals tend to come to mind—equal pay for equal work, protection from sexual harassment, access to reproductive health care. But we shouldn’t overlook the spaces that we exist in every day, our homes and communities—especially as the pandemic has revealed their shortcomings. Transforming these places, solidly constructed in