Covid-19 and gender equality: No more missed opportunities

THE global pandemic will significantly retract all global efforts on the commitment to SDG -5to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. The economic consequences will be far-reaching, most likely to cause much severe and lasting economic damage than any recent economic crisis. Subsequently, deepening the inequality index across the globe. Whilst this looming recession will disproportionately impact on the income and employment of both men and women, its impact on women will be even more lasting post COVID-19. Thus, leading to a major global economic downturn that presents significant implications for gender equality. Evidence from the Ebola crises suggests that the impact of an outbreak on the economy can be devastating and long-lasting. What we must also understand is that,the global pandemic is not to be compared to the Ebola crises or any other global crises as the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic is distinct in several ways.

Let me give you a few insights, Covid-19 has greatly disrupted global value chains, which account for more than two-thirds of world trade, and disruptions are likely to continue as countries restrict economic activity to control the spread of the virus. The shutdown will disrupt the manufacturing sector, small and medium-sized businesses that participate strongly in global value chains. Also, manufacturers of durable goods, will not be spared. The World Trade Organization predicts that merchandise trade is expected to decline by between 13% and 32% in 2020. According to the World Bank and IMF, the large drops in demand for and prices of oil and industrial metals will cause serious economic harm to countries that export these commodities. Whilst agricultural production is currently not hugely affected by the pandemic, however, the World Bank cautions that agriculture and food security are also at risk of disruption.The predicted economic downturn is likely to result in millions of people falling below the $1.90/day international extreme poverty line. The general prediction is that poverty levels will deepen. Without significant action, 2020 could see the first annual increase in poverty levels since 1990. The impacts of Covid-19 on employment are likely to be severe, with anywhere between 5 million and 25 million jobs lost along with labour income of US$860 billion to USD$3.4 trillion. Similarly, small and medium enterprises, and workers in the informal sector will be hit particularly hard. Women and girls’ face higher risk of the economic consequences of this raging pandemic.

Women and girls are particularly vulnerable to economic hardship, as they are generally in more precarious employment than men, they bear a greater burden of unpaid care work which limits their economic participation, and they suffer increased incidences of gender-based violence during crises. In the home front, women and girls typically take on disproportionate burdens of unpaid care work which prevent them from taking on income-generating work. They perform 76% of the total hours of unpaid care work, more than three times as much as men, and during public health crises, care burdens increase to include caring for the sick, for vulnerable elderly family members, and for children.  The UN projects that the Covid-19 global recession will result in a prolonged dip in women’s incomes and economic activities. The global pandemic has resulted in the shutdown of schools and educational institutions. According to a UNESCO report, 1.6 billion children across 191 countries have been severely impacted by the temporary closure of schools, a good number of the girls. School closures will further widen the inequality gaps as more girls are at risk of not returning to school post-COVID-19.

Today, our world is not only confronted by a pandemic, which challenges our global, national and regional health systems, it also challenges our choices, questions our assumptions and confronts our reality. As nations struggle to get the situation under control, one wonders if the whole experience would push us to begin to look at more creative ways to collectively rebuild our economy beyond Covid-19. At this moment in history, particularly in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), women and girls’ ought to be put at the centre of all efforts to recover from the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Clearly, women spend two to ten times more time on unpaid care work than men. This unequal distribution of caring responsibilities is linked to discriminatory social institutions and stereotypical gender roles. Unpaid care work is both an important aspect of economic activity and an indispensable factor contributing to the well-being of individuals, their families and societies. More than ever before, the contribution of caregivers to the economy ought to be recognized and valued.

It’s a missed opportunity to continue excluding women in positions of leadership, decision making, economic and national development. Therefore, the commitment of women in national development should not be undermined by merely engaging in gender-based debates juste pour le plaisir. Visible steps must now be taken to ensure that credit and loan facilities are mainly targeted at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) owned by women, more funding should be allocated to girls’ education and women literacy programs.Additional opportunities should be opened for women to grow their business, as women experience more difficulties gaining access to loans and finances to start up their business due to lack of collateral and/or other gender related discriminatory practices. Evidence suggests that women and girls’ face higher risk of the economic and educational consequences of this raging pandemic. Women with small businesses are already seeing a drop in their daily incomes. In the home front, women and girls typically take on disproportionate burdens of unpaid care work which prevent them from taking on income-generating work. They perform 76 per cent of the total hours of unpaid care work, more than three times as much as men, and during public health crises, care burdens increase to include caring for the sick, for vulnerable elderly family members, and for children. Today we are confronted with a global pandemic, the impact of the pandemic poses fundamental questions that beg for answers: will the global pandemic open new ways of thinking, particularly, in the ways our traditional societies position women and girls, or will it further deepen existing inequalities? The COVID-19 crisis has unlocked new ways of ‘re-thinking’ about our societies, so, we must ‘unlearn’ our old ways in other to ‘learn’ news progressive ways of achieving a gender-equal society -no more missed opportunities!

Dr Ebubedike writes in from the United Kingdom.

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