Introduction: The G 20 Barometer on Gender Equity and COVID-19
There is no doubt that the recent Covid 19 pandemic has impacted severely on especially vulnerable women.
The Women’s Forum of the G 20 recently developed a “Barometer on Gender Equity Focused on Business, Climate Change, Health and Tech in the G20 count (2021)”
The report looked at the perception and the reality of men and women by using a structured questionnaire filled in by men and women from the 20 largest economies of the world. (G 20). What does perception tell us? 79% of women report being afraid of the future, compared to 70% of men. The ones who experienced the worst perception of future prospects are women in Asia (85%) and women in South American (81%). Indeed, 69% of women in the G20 have experienced burnout, anxiety or depression, compared to 58% of men in the G20. Women in Asia and South America are the ones reporting these problems the most (respectively 74% and 82%).
The Covid crisis has had devastating effects, more so on women: 66% of mothers report a considerable increase of their workload, which they found hard to cope with (up to 76% of women with at least one child below 6 years old). 67% of working mothers had issues with their work because they had to take care of their children or vulnerable people around them (up to 74% with a child below 6 years old). 58% of women have reported to feel that no one was helping them, compared to 52% of men, again this was especially the case in South America (66%) and Asia (63%). This was above all the case for single mothers (73%), but also to a large extent for women in couples with children (65%). 54% report they have lost confidence in themselves, compared to 45% of men, this number was once more higher in Asia (58%) and in South America (62%).
These figures, representing feelings and perceptions of men and women in Europe, USA, Asia and Africa, do count. And these figures and realities of men and women should be considered as a serious topic for policymakers, politicians and other decisionmakers. No doubt our life style has to change. And that is up to us, civilians: men and women of this world. It will need a re-assessment of male/female relationships with regard to economic- and social tasks. A better and more equal relationship among men and women, with a better, more equitable and mutual supportive division of caring, nurturing and household tasks is one of the important steps that can and must be taken. It is hopeful to note that young men and women from across the globe are rallying for a different lifestyle, by fighting against climate change, poverty and the growing inequality that has often led to crisis and conflict.
In the next paragraph the relationship between COVID and the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) will be further analysed.
1. Can we achieve the SDGs at 2030?([1])
Women represent more than half of the health care work force, and with the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic in February 2020 – with its’ more than one and a half year duration – affected women differently than men. Indeed, women make up almost 70% of the health care workforce, exposing them to a greater risk of infection. At the same time, women are also shouldering much of the burden at home, given the closure of schools and child care facilities – not to mention the longstanding gender inequalities in unpaid work. Women also face high risks of job and income loss, and face increased risks of violence, exploitation, abuse or harassment during times of crisis and quarantine.
Moreover, women were affected by lay-offs in the services sector and job losses in the informal sector, while managing increased family and household responsibilities during periods of lock-down and restricted mobility. Studies show that women experience an increased occurrence of violence, exploitation, abuse and harassment during times of crisis and quarantine.
The COVID‑19 pandemic is harming health, social and economic well-being worldwide, with women at the centre.
1.1 COVID and the SDGs: Can we achieve the SDGs at 2030?
It will be challenging to achieve all gender-related SDGs by 2030. Indeed, all SDGs with gender-related targets and indicators will be affected by the COVID‑19 crisis:
- As the economic consequences of the outbreak – e.g. layoffs, income loss, job insecurity – might disproportionately affect women. An increase in women’s poverty levels around the globe is highly likely (“SDG 1 – No Poverty”, “SDG 8 – Decent work and employment growth” and “SDG 10 – Reduced Inequality”).
- As evidenced during the Ebola crisis in West Africa in 2014‑15, resources for reproductive and sexual health that are diverted to the emergency response may contribute to a rise in maternal mortality, especially in regions with weak health care capacities (“SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-Being”) (Wenham, Smith and Morgan, 2020[6]). For instance, in Sierra Leone post-crisis impact studies uncovered that even under the most conservative scenario, the decrease in utilisation of life-saving health services translated into 3600 additional maternal, neonatal and stillbirth deaths in the year 2014‑15 (Sochas, Channon and Nam, 2017[45]).
- The Ebola crisis also revealed a significant increase in adolescent pregnancies following the closure of schools during the outbreak, which in turn translated into school dropouts for adolescent mothers during the post-crisis period (“SDG 4 – Quality Education”) (Bandiera et al., 2019[75]). Any increase in unpaid and domestic care work falling on women’s and girls’ shoulders – in particular caring for the sick – will also affect girls’ educational prospects.
- In countries where social norms imply a preference for boys over girls, the pandemic might magnify these preferences across a wide array of domains. For instance, restricted food resources might lead households to favour boys over girls – that is, in societies where discriminatory social norms are widespread – directly affecting “SDG 2 – Zero Hunger”. Similarly, in a context of limited resources, preference might be given to boys over girls in terms of education and health (SDGs 3 and 4).
1.2 Achieving SDG 5: is it possible?
The pandemic is likely to have severe consequences on the specific achievement of SDG 5.
Before the crisis, it was estimated that 2.1 billion girls and women were living in countries that will not achieve gender equality targets by 2030 (Equal Measures 2030, 2020[76]). If the pace of the progress slows, both developed and developing countries will require more time to reach gender equality targets. The following SDG targets from SDG 5 will likely be most affected:
- SDG 5.1, on legal frameworks: Increasing political commitment had led to new legislation to enhance gender equality and abolish discriminatory laws before the COVID‑19 outbreak, both in OECD and partner countries (OECD, 2019[53]; OECD, 2017[54]). However, in many countries, the health crisis will at best slow progress on the new legislations and the implementation of existing legislation. As this crisis escalates, is it possible that rather than slower progress there will be complete shutdowns.
- SDG 5.2, on violence against women: As discussed above, evidence from previous crises suggests that the COVID‑19 pandemic will likely drive an increase in the prevalence of domestic violence, for several reasons (see Section 4 from the OECD rapport “Women at the Core of the Fight against COVID-19 Crisis”).
- SDG 5.3, on harmful practice: Prior the crisis, evidence was pointing to a decline in the practice of child marriage in both South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. However, child-, early- and forced marriage often stem from extreme poverty, and it is possible that any crisis-induced increases in poverty might drive regrowth in these practices in developing countries. Additionally, in low-income countries the health crisis is likely to have (had) a severe impact on government budgets, damaging the resources available for legislative and prosecution activities. Prosecution of perpetrators of female genital mutilation, for instance, might become even more uneven than it was before.
- SDG 5.4, on unpaid care and domestic work: Prior to the COVID‑19 outbreak, women were already performing 75% of household chores and caring activities worldwide (OECD Development Centre, 2019[46]). As women’s unpaid work increases in the wake of the crisis, it may be a challenge to return even to the pre-crisis situation. Indeed, it might be nearly impossible to achieve an equitable distribution of the unpaid care and domestic work between men and women by 2030.
- SDG 5.6, on sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights: The provision of sexual and reproductive health commodities, including menstrual health items, may be impacted by supply chain disruption (UNFPA, 2020[77]). Evidence from the “Zika crisis” in Latin America in 2015‑16 showed that gang violence in El Salvador and Brazil directly affected women’s access to sexual and reproductive health services, with informal networks controlling who had access to supplies and who did not.
All actors need to “work for a significant increase in investments to close the gender gap”, as per the commitments in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, all the more important as we face the battle against COVID‑19. The OECD estimates that the goal to ‘Achieve Gender Equality and Empower all Women and Girls’, Sustainable Development Goal 5, may be the third least funded Goal by partners in developing countries (OECD, 2020[74]).
Adherents to the 2030 Agenda agreed to develop a strategic vision for achieving SDGs founded on key policy coherence principles and to translate commitments into concrete measures at national, subnational and international levels. The OECD Recommendation on Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD) (OECD, 2019[78]) can guide the application of a gender perspective towards a more integrated vision for sustainability. It offers a framework for strengthening effective policy and institutional co‑ordination, as well as monitoring, reporting and evaluation systems in view of the implementation of the SDGs. PCSD data and methodologies allow policy makers to map out critical interactions (synergies and trade-offs) across policies that have an impact on women.
2. COVID-19: a dual sword? Opportunities for gender equality
The economic downturn caused by the current COVID-19 outbreak has substantial implications for gender equality, both during the downturn and the subsequent recovery. Compared to “regular” recessions, which affect men’s employment more severely than women’s employment, the employment drop related to social distancing measures has (had) a large impact on sectors with high female employment shares. In addition, closures of schools and day-care centres have massively increased child care needs, which has a particularly large impact on working mothers.
The effects of the crisis on working mothers are likely to be persistent, due to high returns to experience in the labour market. Beyond the immediate crisis, there are opposing forces which may ultimately promote gender equality in the labour market. First, businesses are rapidly adopting flexible work arrangements, which will likely - and hopefully - persist. Second, there are also fathers who now have to take primary responsibility for child care, which may erode social norms that currently lead to a lopsided distribution of the division of labour in house work and child care.
Conclusion:
Policy responses must be immediate, and they must account for women’s concerns. Governments should, and many have done so in the last year or so, consider adopting emergency measures to help parents manage work and caring responsibilities, reinforcing and extending income support measures, expanding support for small businesses and the self-employed, and improving measure to help female victims of violence. Fundamentally, all policy responses to the crisis must embed a gender lens and account for women’s unique needs, responsibilities and perspectives.
How to address Post Covid? Nobody knows. One thing is sure, if our life styles do not alter there will most probably be environmental crises and a recurrence of viruses with challenges for health systems to address the health needs of a growing and in many countries ageing population.
Notes:
[1] This paper is a summary of the OECD paper “Tackling Corona Virus (Covid-19), Contributing to a Global Effort” (2020)
For further reading:
Gender & Covid-19 Project, https://www.genderandcovid-19.org/
UNFPA (2020), COVID-19: A Gender Lens - Protecting sexual and reproductive health and rights, and promoting gender equality, UNFPA, https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/resource-pdf/COVID-19_A_Gender_Lens_Guidance_Note.pdf (accessed on 24 March 2020).
OECD (2020), COVID-19 Policy Brief on Well-being and Inclusiveness, http://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/en/.
OECD (2020), Women at the Core of the Fight against COVID-19 Crisis, https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/women-at-the-core-of-the-fight-against-covid-19-crisis-553a8269/.
COVID 19 within the approach of domestic violence and child abuse, https://www.efjca.eu/covid-19-within-the-approach-of-domestic-violence-and-child-abuse (accessed on 31 March 2020).
The Impact of COVID-19 on Gender Equality, Northwestern University, http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/~mdo738/research/COVID19_Gender_March_2020.pdf
The Women’s Forum barometer on gender equity Focused on business, climate change, health and tech in the G20 count (2021). https://www.womens-forum.com/barometer
T. van Osch, "The gender impact of coronavirus", 2020, https://www.academia.edu/42378316/The_gender_impact_of_Coronavirus.
DEVEX, Multiple papers on Covid-19 and Gender, see https://www.devex.com.
MenEngage Alliance, Digital Activism for Equitable, Compassionate, and Non-Violent Ways of Being Men During Covid-19, http://menengage.org/digital-activism-for-equitable-compassionate-and-non-violent-ways-of-being-men-during-covid-19/
