The Covid-19 pandemic has been a blow to each one of us on several fronts. Enough evidence has been accumulated to show that women have been hit the worst by the pandemic. The global economic downturn that has accompanied the pandemic has acutely brought gender pay disparities to our notice. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) lists one of their goals as achieving gender equality. Despite gender equality being a fundamental human right, pervasive discriminatory laws and societal norms have consistently thrown up a bevy of complex geo-social challenges. Women workers have been hit considerably harder than men during the ongoing pandemic, and this has resulted in what is increasingly being viewed as the ‘she-cession’.
Underrepresented
Globally, women continue to be consistently underrepresented across all levels of political leadership. Across industries — hospitality, manufacturing, healthcare, construction, transport, real estate, and finance — women continue to be disproportionately represented. The McKinsey Global Institute report finds that
women are overrepresented in three out of four industries that are in steady decline amidst the pandemic. The ongoing pandemic is bound to exacerbate these existing inequalities. One in five women and girls between the ages of 15 and 49 report having experienced domestic and or sexual abuse within a 12-month period. This number rises to 30 per cent if we consider intimate partner violence (IPV). The Covid-19 pandemic could potentially reverse the limited progress that has been scaled on the fronts of gender equality and women’s rights. Emerging data shows that violence against women and girls (VAWG), and particularly domestic violence, has intensified during the pandemic. Expert groups have not shied away from labelling this as a shadow pandemic. In France, domestic violence has been reported to increase by 30% since the country first went into lockdown. In Singapore, helplines have been increasingly attending to calls pertaining to domestic violence. The story is not very different in India, UK, the USA, Canada, Germany, and Spain.
Unpaid, unrecognised
The virus has increased the burden of unpaid care for children, the elderly and the sick, and these roles are disproportionately taken on by women. The McKinsey report has found that women’s jobs are at 19% greater risk than that of men. Administrative systems across the world need to make a concerted effort to take an inclusive approach towards women. Taking a women-centric approach will drive the economy forward in a robust fashion. This starts with a systematic approach to involve more women in Covid-19 response teams. Closing the gender pay gap, and addressing the construct of unpaid care work should start taking shape at a policy level. Whilst making future socio-economic plans, it is important to keep an intentional focus on the female gender so that they are comprehensively incorporated into the scheme of future economic designs. Women’s unpaid care work has a direct link to wage inequality, poorer educational outcomes and a negative impact on physical and mental health.
As governments rebuild economic structures, immediate action is needed in the realm of extending administrative and social support to women. This approach cannot be done in silos and should have a long-term tangible impact on women’s livelihoods. Support measures should take into consideration informal sectors which substantially employ women. Hospitality, food, and tourism sectors need that additional impetus in the face of this pandemic. Women workforce is substantial in these industries.
Inclusion strategy
Bailouts and support measures should be directed across a range of sectors, right from large and medium-sized enterprises to small and micro-businesses. Special economic stimulus packages specifically directed at women should be announced at a policy level.
Role divisions need to take place with men assuming primary caregiver roles or sharing domestic roles with women. National response plans should ensure that social assistance programmes reach the end woman beneficiary. Public awareness building exercises around intimate partner violence in particular, and violence against women in general, need to take place. Civil society groups should be encouraged to provide assistance to women who have been victims of trauma and violence. Mental health professionals need to be drafted into systems that enable solutions for violence against women. These systems need to be functional in every district. Lastly, data and coordination mechanisms incorporating gender perspectives need to evolve in the longer term as part of the policy response to the pandemic.
(The author is a senior consultant psychiatrist.)
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