In the labor market, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to affect men and women equally, but women’s job losses were most common among low-wage workers. While women kept their jobs in some sectors where they are highly concentrated, such as essential services and telecommuting jobs, other sectors where women are overrepresented, such as hospitality and care, saw much more job losses during the pandemic than other sectors. In contrast, men’s job loss was more evenly distributed.
Life at home during the COVID-19 crisis was also challenging, as work and family conflicts increased dramatically for both men and women during the pandemic. The deterioration of the balance between work and family life was particularly striking among mothers of young children working remotely. New findings reveal how women are more likely to embrace a shift to remote work or flexible working arrangements, risking a worsening of gender inequality, as increased unpaid work and reduced visibility in the workplace can lead to unintended consequences for career progression, pay and pensions.
In addition, the COVID-19 crisis increased the need for unpaid work, emphasizing gender roles: women’s share of care, cooking and cleaning increased, while men’s share of gardening, DIY and transporting family members increased. In families with two wage earners, the father’s share of childcare increased only if the mother worked outside the home and the father did not.
The total weekly working time of employed women (including paid and unpaid work) exceeds that of men in the EU by more than 7 hours. This number rises to almost 19 hours when comparing full-time workers with children.
The results, obtained by analyzing different EU-wide datasets, look at gender inequality before the pandemic and describe how the pandemic has affected this inequality. In addition, the report analyzes the different policy responses of EU national governments to address some of these issues and describes how evidence-based policy-making can have a positive impact on gender equality, particularly in relation to care.
Speaking after the publication of the report, the Deputy Director of Eurofound Maria Jepsen said: “The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the gender gap at work and at home. Post-pandemic, we have an opportunity to make a real difference by addressing gender norms, behavior and policies. It is crucial that policymakers, including social partners, prioritize equality issues and at the same time continue to closely monitor and evaluate progress.
HT
Source: Eurofund
Source: The Nordic Page