JOHANNESBURG; Mar 08, 2021 – COVID-19 is eroding the hard-won progress made towards many aspects of parity over recent decades. As the Institute for Fiscal Studies noted that the nature of the economic shock associated with the pandemic has touched many old and deep inequalities, gender inequality is no exception.
A number of studies have indicated the devastating macro-level impact of COVID-19 on women, affirming that women are more likely to work in harder hit and higher risk sectors – such as healthcare, social and domestic work. This year alone, about 47 million women are expected to be living on less than US$1.90 a day as a result of the pandemic. Additionally, around 740 million women globally work in the informal economy, which was detrimentally affected by the lockdowns. Furthermore, women remain underrepresented in formal employment – particularly at more senior levels.
The decline in women’s economic empowerment could have significant long-term impact. Experience of pandemics like Ebola and Zika suggest that women take longer than men to recover from the impact of a financial crisis. Women are less likely to have significant savings or have put money away for retirement, leaving them at higher risk following periods of unemployment or restricted income. The drive for more physical distancing in the workplace could also accelerate automation trends. This is a concern given that 11% of the female workforce is at a high risk of automation, compared with 9% of their male peers.
The erosion of female empowerment and poverty reduction programmes also threatens not only progress made towards implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but also the development agenda in countries across the world. According to Ntombi Mhangwani, Experience Architect & Lead Women’s Forum at Accenture Interactive Africa, "the impact of COVID-19 will continue to allow societies to be less equal, more divided and poorer if they are left unattended. It is therefore important to recognise women as equal partners and key actors in the economy, and in the process increase the possibilities for a quicker socio-economic recovery."
