Can We Address the Disproportionate Impact of COVID-19 on Women?

By Ellen Schewior

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Weaning from the worldwide lockdown that started around March and April, the public focus has rightly been on flattening the curve of the COVID-19 pandemic and, more recently, avoiding an economic depression. With millions of households facing health and financial challenges, the social implications of the virus cannot be remised. If anything, the pandemic has highlighted the need to advocate and legislate for a more robust socio-economic infrastructure that protects vulnerable communities that are now disproportionately impacted. Women’s health and gender equality has been one such issue that has made huge gains in the last few decades but at present the advancements are quickly eroding.

Women have been and continue to be at the heart of the response strategy against COVID-19 both professionally as front-line workers in healthcare as well as privately as caregivers for their families. Some of these jobs and responsibilities undertaken by women pose different and often more detrimental obstacles to women’s health and gender equality. Through our analysis we will delve into how the pandemic has exacerbated the gender disparity in socio-economic and health terms to initiate a dialogue on how society can protect women and girls during these unprecedented times.

Risking Women’s Psychological and Physical Health

Women and men in the healthcare system combating COVID-19 face great health risk as front-line workers. However, as women account for 70% of the global workforce in healthcare, they face more severe challenges in this sector than men.[1] Simply put, women in this field are at a higher risk of contracting the virus as they have a higher exposure rate to patients with high viral loads. And as the number of cases increase and hospitals reach capacity, women will continue to be at a greater risk.

Moreover, making up the majority of the global health workforce, women will greatly suffer from mental health, as undoubtedly this pandemic is very likely to spill over and create another pandemic in the form of a mental health crisis.[2] Due to the high pressure and unpredictability of the outbreak, mental health disorders can range from anxiety and depression to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).[3] Given the fact that “medical frontline workers can’t talk to their families about their fears because their families are already afraid”[4], according to psychotherapist Karen Dougherty, healthcare workers may suffer in silence without a robust support network. After hundreds of doctors, nurses and support workers have reached out to Dougherty for help, she was prompted to establish the Ontario COVID-19 Mental Health Network where healthcare workers could receive free therapy and connect with support groups.

Additionally, since the start of the pandemic necessary health services for women have dropped significantly. In a WHO report, researchers have found that as COVID-19 takes up most of the capacities in the healthcare system, other services that are essential to women’s health such as pregnancy care, contraceptives, sexual assault services and safe abortions tend to be scaled back.[5] This is incredibly worrisome as the lack of essential medical services for women can lead to life threatening outcomes. This works against an unfortunate backdrop where women in Asia and the Pacific already have a harder time seeking medical care compared to their male counterparts. It has been claimed that in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Thailand more than half of the women surveyed in a UN Women’s COVID-19 report could not see a doctor and faced longer wait times for examinations.[6]

Unpaid Domestic Caregiving is an Obstacle for Women Trying to Access and Stay in the Labour Market

Unpaid domestic care work is the main reason why women do not enter the labour force. Globally, 606 million women of working age (or 21.7%) are occupied as full time unpaid care workers compared to 41 million working age men (or 1.5%).[7] While the women’s share of unpaid housework and caregiving responsibilities has decreased slightly over the years, it has done so at a snail’s pace. Between 1997 and 2012, the time women spent on caregiving and domestic work have reduced by only 15 minutes per day, while for men it increased by just eight minutes per day. At this rate, it would have taken almost 209 years to close the gender gap in unpaid work. Because of the pandemic these projections for improvement - although marginal - have taken a setback.

Now that schools and day-cares are shut, and care needs of elderly people are surging, the demand for unpaid care work has increased. Under the pandemic, it appears that the pre-existing inequality in the distribution of domestic caregiving responsibilities between women and men have gotten worse, making it even more difficult for women to enter the labour market. A UN Women survey on the Maldives shows this to be the case as women are bearing most of the additional burden of unpaid domestic work. The survey found that, although some of the newly arisen household chores and care work for children and elderly are now being shared between men and women, women shoulder more of the COVID-related additional unpaid domestic work (22%) compared to men (13%).[8]

Even if we take a step back and argue that the essential unpaid caregiving services are needed during a time when the education and healthcare sectors are at capacity, our current economic system does not acknowledge the contributions of unpaid work. This is problematic because if unpaid domestic caregiving is not accounted for in a country’s GDP, the cycle of undervaluing the role of women in the economy and society-at-large will continue. Not acknowledging such contributions will also make women’s working conditions worse as they are pushed into traditional gender roles. Furthermore, as gender roles will continue to strengthen, a stigma on men partaking in domestic care work will dampen the advancements for gender equality. Currently in the EU, women spend 13 more hours of domestic and care work a week than men do.[9] In these current conditions with families facing financial and health insecurities, women will continue to find themselves bearing the burden of domestic work with no economic recognition.

That said, as single parents find themselves more involved in unpaid domestic care, they will face a higher level of job uncertainty than households with both parents. This is due to the reality of simultaneously juggling work and taking care of family with the shutdown of day-care centres and old age homes. Without a robust support system, single parents are at risk for losing their jobs and consequently exposing themselves to poverty. In the EU, women make up almost 85% of all single parents, and almost half, 48%, are at risk of poverty or social exclusion compared to 32% of single fathers at risk. Undoubtedly, during the pandemic single mothers will face greater rates of job loss and will suffer from financial insecurity. This projection is supported by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) study on unpaid care work. The study suggests that COVID-19 is likely to increase the risk of poverty and social inclusion of single parents in Europe, particularly for single mothers.[10]

Creating Further Income Disparity between Women and Men in the Work Force

According to a 2018 ILO report, 1.3 billion women make up the workforce compared to 2 billion men, reflecting how women were 26% less likely to receive employment than their male counterpart.[11] Recognizing the labour market’s bias towards men and the impacts of unpaid domestic caregiving work and household responsibilities on women accessing and retaining paid employment, COVID-19 has increased the struggle for women in other ways. Women already in the in the labour market have found themselves in sectors that are prone to job losses and salary cuts. These sectors include hospitality and food services, real estate, business and administrative activities, manufacturing, and the wholesale/retail trade. Globally, 40% of the female workforce are employed in such sectors, compared to just 35.3% of men.[12]

In addition, the current economic crisis arising from the global pandemic favours jobs that are “critical”, i.e. essential in response to COVID-19, such as jobs in transportation, protective services, healthcare, farming, fishing and forestry, as well as maintenance and repair. Following this classification only 17% of all employed women work in critical sectors as opposed to 24% of employed men.[13]

Having the ability to work remotely significantly reduces the risk of job loss due to the pandemic. However, 22% of women as opposed to 28% of men have jobs that allow teleworking; [14] hence, they are more likely to suffer layoffs than their male counterpart. Coupled with the fact that women worldwide generally earn less, around 18.8% less than men at the global level[15], the pandemic has pushed women further back in terms of accessing decent work and closing the gender pay gap.

Moreover, for a long time women have been exposed to low-income jobs in the informal sector at a larger rate than men: 90 % in sub-Saharan African countries, 89 % in Southern Asia and 75 % in Latin America.[16] As the current situation worsens, particularly in these regions for informal workers, women will find themselves increasingly threatened by poverty. Having low paid informal jobs, they seldom have sufficient savings. Employed by owners of informal enterprises who are no longer able to pay employees, the loss of critical income will push them into poverty. Moreover, their job loss will undoubtedly lead to a rise in child labour and lower school enrolment rates, especially for young girls in developing countries.[17]

The reality of weak social security systems and economic hardship for women in low-income and lower-middle income countries during this pandemic will exacerbate labour conditions that already prey on women.[18]

Increase in Violence Against Women and Girls

In 2017, 87,000 women were killed by their partner and/or family members, and in the last year 243 million girls and women between the ages of 15 and 49 were physically and/or sexually assaulted by their partners. Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a pervasive global problem and under the recent lockdown, increases in financial and health related anxieties have contributed to an uptick in violence against women and children. This is particularly true for already abusive relationships, and these domestic violence cases have become a “Shadow Pandemic”.[19]

In the UK alone, charities sheltering victims have recorded a 700% increase in emergency calls related to domestic abuse.[20] It has been noted that women tend to experience abuse when resources within a household become scarce and the need to stay at home deprives them of the opportunity to earn a living and possibly remove themselves from these environments.[21],[22]

VAWG is enormously underreported. Less than 40% of the cases are reported.[23] Given the stay-at-home measures and social distancing practices in place, higher rates of underreporting is expected as women will have reduced access to necessities and services.

A further factor for increased violence is social distancing that has rendered streets and public spaces empty and thus provided opportunities for violent acts against women. In the Philippines and India, there has been a rise in fear among women with regards to violence. Also, women being at the forefront of the COVID-19 response, for instance as healthcare workers, have been increasingly subjected to both physical and verbal attacks especially in China, Italy and Singapore.[24]

Difficulty Disseminating Information to Vulnerable Populations

The consequences of the pandemic are amplified when social cohesion is undermined, and institutional services are weak. This is particularly true in contexts of emergency, conflict and disability.[25] Women face even more severe consequences when gender intersects with vulnerable characteristics such as disability or refugee status. Hygiene measures are often more difficult to implement for persons with disabilities, as well as for persons forced to stay in refugee camps, making them more susceptible to contracting the virus. Added to this, limited access to information and public health messages, in refugee camps for instance, the spread of COVID-19 within a population that lacks healthcare and proper safety nets can be dangerous.[26] When education and literacy levels are low and information on hygiene and health measures often do not reach people most exposed to risks, it will aggravate the vulnerability of women and girls.

Recommendations

Gender equality and equity should still be a priority, especially in times of crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the systematic hardship that women go through but has also contributed to the amplification of these pre-existing struggles. So, where do we go from here? What can civil society and governments do to combat gender inequality and promote the safety and security of young girls and women?

· Equitable access to hygiene measures and psychological support for female healthcare workers, fair remuneration and the appropriate recognition of women’s contribution as healthcare workers.

· Further investments in women’s health provisions and services to prevent life threatening outcomes.

· Advocacy for shared responsibilities for household chores and care work between the family or partners.

· Legislation of policies that ensure day-care and old age care for families, especially single parent households. This includes establishing childcare programmes such as emergency day-care centres for single parents.

· Lobbying employers to apply family-friendly policies that allow (single) parents to balance work and family life. These could include allowing to bring children to the workplace, flexible working hours, and remote working facilities.

· Compensation or subsidy schemes as well as equitable access for women’s economic hardship due to the pandemic.[27] Such measures are essential under “normal” circumstances, too. They help to establish gender equity from an economic perspective in the long run.

· Equitable access to information and public health messages, especially to those in fragile contexts.

· If you or a person you know have experienced abuse or feel/s unsafe, please see the list of country help lines here: https://www.endvawnow.org/en/need-help. A list of organisations that provide services can be found here: https://www.thepixelproject.net/resources/domestic-violence-incest-resource-page/

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[1] World Health Organization, “Gender and COVID-19: advocacy brief”, 14 May 2020 (https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/332080/WHO-2019-nCoV-Advocacy_brief-Gender-2020.1-eng.pdf) [2] Choi, Kristen R., et al. "A second pandemic: Mental health spillover from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)." Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (2020): 1078390320919803. (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1078390320919803) [3] Greenberg, Neil. "Mental health of health-care workers in the COVID-19 era." Nature Reviews Nephrology (2020): 1-2. (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41581-020-0314-5) [4] CBC News: The National “How health care workers are managing the stress and anxiety”, YouTube Video, 1:56, posted April 24, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttX6tP6TeiA [5] World Health Organization. “Gender and COVID-19: advocacy brief”, May 14, 2020 (https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/332080/WHO-2019-nCoV-Advocacy_brief-Gender-2020.1-eng.pdf) [6] “Surveys show that COVID-19 has gendered effects in Asia and the Pacific”, Gender and COVID-19, UN WOMEN, WOMEN COUNT, last modified April 29 2020, https://data.unwomen.org/resources/surveys-show-covid-19-has-gendered-effects-asia-and-pacific [7] International Labour Organization. "A quantum leap for gender equality: For a better future of work for all.", 2019 (https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_674831.pdf) [8] “COVID-19 may be prompting men to help out at home, evidence from the Maldives suggests”, Gender and COVID-19, UN WOMEN, WOMEN COUNT, last modified May 8, 2020, https://data.unwomen.org/features/covid-19-may-be-prompting-men-help-out-home-evidence-maldives-suggests [9] “Unpaid care and housework”, European Institute for Gender Equality, last modified 2020, https://eige.europa.eu/covid-19-and-gender-equality/unpaid-care-and-housework [10] “Unpaid care and housework”, European Institute for Gender Equality, last modified 2020, https://eige.europa.eu/covid-19-and-gender-equality/unpaid-care-and-housework [11] International Labour Organization. "A quantum leap for gender equality: For a better future of work for all.", 2019 (https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_674831.pdf) [12] International Labour Organization, “The COVID-19 response: Getting gender equality right for a better future for women at work: Policy brief”, May, 2020 (https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---gender/documents/publication/wcms_744374.pdf) [13] Marta Henriques, “Why COVID-19 is different for men and women”, BBC Future, April 13, 2020, https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200409-why-covid-19-is-different-for-men-and-women [14] Marta Henriques, “Why COVID-19 is different for men and women”, BBC Future, April 13, 2020, https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200409-why-covid-19-is-different-for-men-and-women [15] International Labour Organization. "A quantum leap for gender equality: For a better future of work for all.", 2019 (https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_674831.pdf) [16] International Labour Organization. "A quantum leap for gender equality: For a better future of work for all.", 2019 (https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_674831.pdf) [17] International Labour Organization, “COVID-19 crisis and the informal economy: Immediate responses and policy challenges: ILO brief”, May, 2020 https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---travail/documents/briefingnote/wcms_743623.pdf [18] International Labour Organization, “The COVID-19 response: Getting gender equality right for a better future for women at work: Policy brief”, May, 2020 (https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---gender/documents/publication/wcms_744374.pdf) [19] “Infographic: The Shadow Pandemic - Violence Against Women and Girls and COVID-19”, UN WOMEN, last modified April 6, 2020, https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/multimedia/2020/4/infographic-covid19-violence-against-women-and-girls [20] Marc Townsend, “Revealed: surge in domestic violence during Covid-19 crisis”, The Guardian, April 12, 2020,https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/apr/12/domestic-violence-surges-seven-hundred-per-cent-uk-coronavirus [21] World Health Organization, “Gender and COVID-19: advocacy brief”, 14 May 2020 (https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/332080/WHO-2019-nCoV-Advocacy_brief-Gender-2020.1-eng.pdf) [22] World Health Organization, “COVID-19 and violence against women: what the health sector/system can do”, March 26, 2020 (https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/emergencies/COVID-19-VAW-full-text.pdf?ua=1) [23] “Infographic: The Shadow Pandemic - Violence Against Women and Girls and COVID-19”, UN WOMEN, last modified April 6, 2020, https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/multimedia/2020/4/infographic-covid19-violence-against-women-and-girls [24] UN WOMEN, "COVID-19 and ending violence against women and girls.", April 6, 2020 (https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2020/issue-brief-covid-19-and-ending-violence-against-women-and-girls-en.pdf?la=en&vs=5006) [25] United Nations, “Policy Brief: The Impact of COVID-19 on Women.”, April 9,2020 (https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2020/policy-brief-the-impact-of-covid-19-on-women-en.pdf?la=en&vs=5029) [26] United Nations, “Policy Brief: The Impact of COVID-19 on Women.”, April 9,2020 (https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2020/policy-brief-the-impact-of-covid-19-on-women-en.pdf?la=en&vs=5029) [27] International Labour Organization, “The COVID-19 response: Getting gender equality right for a better future for women at work: Policy brief”, May, 2020 (https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---gender/documents/publication/wcms_744374.pdf)