- The COVID-19 pandemic has reversed many of women’s workplace gains, causing a ‘shecession’, according to a new report.
- In 17 of the 24 rich countries where unemployment rose last year, women were more likely than men to lose their jobs.
- On average, women spent 7.7 more hours a week than men on unpaid childcare last year, forcing some women to quit their jobs altogether.
- The report concluded that progress towards gender equality at work would not begin to recover until 2022.
Women’s workplace gains reversed
Women were more likely than men to lose their jobs in 17 of the 24 rich countries where unemployment rose last year, according to the latest annual PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Women in Work Index.
Jobs in female-dominated sectors
Jobs in female-dominated sectors like marketing and communications were more likely to be lost than roles in finance, which are more likely to be held by men, said the report, calling the slowdown a “shecession”.
Meanwhile, women were spending on average 7.7 more hours a week than men on unpaid childcare, a “second shift” that is nearly the equivalent of a full-time job and risks forcing some out of paid work altogether, it found.
Bouncing of economies
“Although jobs will return when economies bounce back, they will not necessarily be the same jobs,” said Larice Stielow, senior economist at PwC.
“If we don’t have policies in place to directly address the unequal burden of care, and to enable more women to enter jobs in growing sectors of the economy, women will return to fewer hours, lower-skilled, and lower paid jobs.”
The report, which looked at 33 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) club of rich nations, said progress towards gender equality at work would not begin to recover until 2022.
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Source: We Forum
