Covid-19: Gender Inequalities in the Labour Market

The longer-term impact on employment and the distribution of job loss is, at this stage, much harder to predict. The sheer scale of the economic contraction means that there will likely be job losses in both male- and female-dominated sectors of the economy. But there is some possibility of longer-lasting gendered effects. Consumer habits may well change in response to the virus, and distancing measures mean that firms in the retail sector and accommodation and food industries will be operating at well below full capacity for several months to come. Many firms may find it hard to survive. This could have considerable implications for (largely female) workforce in those industries.

Small business owners have been particularly vulnerable to the global lockdowns. Does this gender inequality extend to entrepreneurship, and to what extent? 

This is an interesting question. We know that women-led enterprises are at a disadvantage in many respects. They tend to have less access to capital, grow more slowly, and female owners are often not able to devote as much time to their business as men. But at least in the 2008 financial crisis, women-led businesses did not seem to be more vulnerable than men-led businesses, with survival rates of business start-ups being more or less the same for both men and women. One of the reasons is that women tend to operate more often in areas which are less affected by economic downturns, such as health, education and other services. 

But this crisis may be different. As the lockdowns were severe in many countries requiring some sectors to close down rapidly and for extended periods, women-led businesses might find it harder to cope as they tend to have less capital and rely more on self-financing than male-led companies. However, the verdict is still out, as the impact is only gradually becoming clear.

The 2008 financial and economic crisis was characterised by greater job losses in male-dominated sectors, notably construction and manufacturing. Women actually often compensated for men’s losses by entering the labour market. The net result was an increase in hours worked by women. During the recovery phase, however, men’s employment improved more quickly than women’s employment in many countries. 

This crisis is different in nature to previous ones, and given that the scale of the economic impact is still emerging, it is difficult to make firm predictions on whether and to what extent the crisis may disproportionately affect women’s jobs, business and incomes. Still, there are several valid concerns around the impact the crisis may have on women’s economic outcomes. Early data from Canada on the impact of the Covid-19 crisis shows that this time too, male employment is rising more quickly after lockdown than that of women. 

Like in the 2008 crisis, this time too we are seeing just how important it is to provide affordable good quality child care to families and, even more, for single parents who are predominantly female. As families have been juggling telework, home schooling and broader care and domestic work responsibilities women have once more been carrying the largest part of the burden. Without comprehensive childcare and family policies, but also a better distribution of unpaid work in the home, women risk losing a large part of their advances in the labour market, setting them back decades in the fight for equal work and equal pay. 

Copyright: Philippe LOPEZ / AFP