Women’s empowerment in the era of social distancing
COVID-19 and its associated lockdowns have seriously disrupted economic activity,
affecting a minimum of 80 percent of the world workforce, per the International Labour Organization. While such instability threatens livelihoods across the board, women are disproportionately harmed by the pandemic because it exacerbates existing inequalities, presents new challenges, and sets back recent achievements. But there are practical steps we are able to take to strengthen women’s economic position within the COVID-19 era and beyond.
Approximately 190 million women are employed in global supply chains, yet many are in precarious positions. Low literacy and tech literacy levels, among other factors, relegate women to lower paying jobs with minimal rights protections, making them particularly vulnerable. As women tackle greater care demands at home, their jobs also are going to be disproportionately affected by cuts and lay-offs. Such impacts risk rolling back the already fragile gains made in female labor participation, limiting women’s ability to support themselves and their families, especially for female-headed households. In many countries, the first round of layoffs has been particularly acute within the services sector, including retail, hospitality and tourism, where women are overrepresented. The situation is worse in developing economies where the overwhelming majority of women’s employment – 70 percent – is within the informal economy with few protections against dismissal or for paid leave
and limited access to social protection. To earn a living these workers often depend upon public space and social interactions, which are now being restricted to contain the spread of the pandemic.
The COVID-19 global crisis has made starkly visible the fact that the world’s formal economies and the maintenance of our daily lives are built on the invisible and unpaid labor of women and girls. With children out of school, intensified care needs of older persons and ill family members, and overwhelmed health services, demands for care work in a COVID19 world have intensified exponentially. Women’s unpaid care work has long been recognized as a driver of inequality. It has a direct link to wage inequality, lower income, poorer education outcomes, and physical and mental health stressors. The unpaid and invisible labor in this sector has been exacerbated exponentially by the COVID-19 pandemic. But the pandemic has also made starkly clear the way in which the daily functioning of families, communities, and the formal economy are dependent on this invisible work. As we rebuild economic structures which are more inclusive and resilient, there is an opportunity to be transformative, and to recognize, reduce and redistribute unpaid care work once and for all.
Bhumika trust