The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the high inequalities in our society and especially the challenges that women face in the labour market. Women continue to receive lower pay, have a lower probability of employment and be at higher risk of falling into poverty. During this difficult period of the COVID-19 pandemic, female headed households are especially feeling the pinch. On average, these households depend on a single employed female and are larger and contain more children under the age of 14, compared to male headed households. These female heads-of-household are also more likely to be in elementary occupations in the services sector, which has been one of the hardest hit sectors during the pandemic.
Recent data from NIDS-CRAM reveals that women have been the hardest hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results from an analysis of the NIDS-CRAM data by Daniela Casale and Dorrit Posel show that of the 2.9 million jobs lost between February 2020 and April 2020, two thirds of those jobs were lost by women. The implication therefore, is that these households are at a higher risk of falling into poverty due to lost income. Saldrupian Jacqueline Mosomi was part of an eNCA panel discussion on these salient issues with Daniela Casale and Kokesto Moeti. Watch part 1 and part 2 of the eNCA panel discussion on issues of gender inequality in the labour market, gender-based violence and the COVID-19 pandemic.