Gender equality and the socio-economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic
(2021) , 72 pages
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- Abstract
- The year 2020 will be remembered as the year of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, with two distinct waves of different intensities and timings across countries. The first wave hit the European Union between mid February and the end of June and was charac- terised by stay-at-home orders and physical dis- tancing measures in most countries. The asso- ciated lockdown measures resulted in a signif- icant reduction in total employment in the 27 Member States (EU-27) compared with 2019. The slowing of the pandemic in summer 2020 led many countries to relax their containment measures; however, many sectors and jobs – such as those related to tourism and culture (accommodation, catering, entertainment and recreation, transport, travel agencies, etc.) – did not fully recover because of limitations on transnational mobility and social distancing. As a result, the sectors and occupations most or least affected by the COVID-19 crisis fluctuated according to the peaks of the pandemic and the different response measures implemented by national governments. The short-lived recovery in summer 2020 ended in the autumn, when a second wave of the pandemic began. The COVID-19 health crisis has had strong repercussions for the EU labour market, despite the employment and income support measures adopted. The outbreak has also highlighted the importance of providing workers with essential services, such as healthcare, ICT and utilities, education and emergency services (including support services for victims of domestic vio- lence) (ILO, 2020a). The European Institute for Gender Equality’s (EIGE) analysis (1) shows that women are over-represented in many of these essential jobs. The COVID-19 pandemic context has high- lighted several gender-specific labour market impacts, such as the large gender segregation in ‘essential’ and ‘non-essential’ sectors and occupations, gender differences in telework opportunities, and non-gender-neutral impli- cations of increased unpaid care work. The clo- sure of schools and other care facilities during the pandemic has further complicated the rec- onciliation of paid work and care responsibilities for many workers, especially women with chil- dren. Although outside the scope of this study, a spike in gender-based violence has also been evident. Many of the factors that trigger or per- petuate violence against women and girls have been amplified by the preventive confinement measures, deteriorating socioeconomic situa- tion and job losses. In the absence of a gender equality perspective in short-term emergency and long-term recon- struction measures, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic risk maintaining or even furthering pre-existing gender inequalities and rolling back the progress achieved to date. This study aims to provide a more detailed and timely picture of the short-term and long-term gender equal- ity challenges faced by the EU as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, focusing on (1) the labour market situation; (2) working arrangements and incomes; (3) the impact on gender roles and the work–life balance of workers; and (4) the role of employ- ment-supporting factors and recovery measures, in particular from a work–life balance perspective. The study was carried out at the request of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU. It aims to contribute to important future pol- icy decisions in support of the gender equality goals of the EU recovery process.
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Citations
Vielle, P., & et al. (2021). Gender equality and the socio-economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Publications Office of the European Union. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/102942