Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the globe to a profound shock. Women at the frontline against the COVID-19 crisis have been affected psychologically (Palmer & Small, 2021). The compounding burden that they have is over-represented within the healthcare sector. The majority of the health providers are women, and some have unpaid household workers. The pandemic has posed high-risk economic security, and the burdens have continually grown. Some have reported abuse, violence, exploitation, and harassment during the quarantine period (Palmer & Small, 2021). There has been a battle to liberate women from inequalities that affect them in various dimensions, such as their incomes, business entities, living standards, and women’s job. The widespread fallout from the crisis has also led to great resignation.
Women are caught between their economic developments and fending for their families. The globe has seen many older women facing the highest risks in financial security among seniors (Palmer & Small, 2021). For instance, women carry out more caring tasks than men. According to OECD Development Centre’s Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI), the healthcare sector holds more women than men, and their excellent resignation ontology has made the state of the pandemic worsen (Palmer & Small, 2021). The increased closure of schools and daycares, travel restrictions, and home quarantines has increased the risks older women face, and it confines them to work from home. The research focuses on the ideals faced by women and the realism that the society has imposed on them globally.
Women’s Responsibilities in the Global Setup
Women play crucial roles in the health care response team during COVID-19. The statistics show that women constitute two-thirds of healthcare providers while they score lowly among pharmacists, dentists, and physicians. OECD countries have over half of their doctors emanating from the female gender (Carli, 2020). Therefore, these women play a critical role in long-term care (LTC). However, there are fewer women in senior positions within the health sector. During the pandemic, care workers have faced exceptional demand due to increased fatalities. The confinement measures have made it more challenging for women to balance caring for their families and maintaining their jobs (Carli, 2020). Women that are loyal to their job descriptions have seen a pay cut during the pandemic, yet their recurrent bills remain constant.
The health providers face enormous risks, and one of them is fending for the aged physicians. According to OECD countries’ analysis, people above 55 exacerbate the high stakes that the medics face. Many doctors are dying while on duty because of their increased chances of exposure to COVID-19 patients. The elevated risks among older adults and those with underlying conditions are exceptionally high throughout the crisis. Over 60% of the LTC workforce is faced with the disproportionality emanating from health defects and physical risks (Carli, 2020). The remaining 40% are prone to developmental problems due to associative stress and challenges of the working environment.
Women Analysis at Home Care
Women are always in the frontline to care for their family at home. Statistically, 80% of women spend four hours daily fending and caring for their families (Wei et al., 2021). The global analysis of unpaid work according to gender gap shows much effect in Korea and Japan. In European countries, over 50% of employed women are more likely to resign or take a day off to care for their ill, elderly, or disabled relatives than men (Wei et al., 2021). There is a 90% chance for unemployed women to care for their families compared to men (Wei et al., 2021). The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified this notion because most women are burdened with unpaid work burdens (Wei et al., 2021). For instance, the closure of childcare facilities and schools has given many women no choice but to resign from their facilities and have time for their children.
The need to supervise their families is fundamental because any slight chance the kids get to socialize with other peers can increase the rate of COVID-19 infections. Nonetheless, fulfilling the need to stay at home and keep working to pay the bills (Wei et al., 2021). However, men also face the upshot of school closures, and there is a shift to mass teleworking that makes more men exposed to the burden of paid and unpaid work that women face. For instance, when men are locked in and need to work from home, they will help their wives during their free time, and they will learn the hefty work usually done by their wives when they are absent (Wei et al., 2021). This can trigger equality in gender roles and further expose men to a long-lasting effect of the need to share responsibilities. However, the liberty of gender equality is not promised because other men can choose to ignore unpaid duties.
Women’s Economic Activities and COVID-19 Pandemic
The depth of COVID-19 poses a public health crisis and an economic crisis. The globe has seen its economies shut down, and the looming danger is the effects seen during the financial crisis in 2008. The pandemic has disrupted the global supply chain, forcing workers to remain quarantined or subjected to lockdowns. Companies have tried to find solutions, but they have only one alternative interrupting or scaling down their operations. Some of the companies have registered job losses (Palmer & Small, 2021). The scale of economic closures influences men and women differently. For instance, the 2008 financial crisis caused many men to lose their jobs because most companies were male-denominated. However, during the recovery phase of the great recession, more men were employed than women (Palmer & Small, 2021). The COVID-19 infectious rate has a sharper effect on women since their role as caregivers is compromised. There is little attention to the gendered crisis and the policies supporting women during such a pandemic focus on gender disparities.
Employee and Job Matrix to Women during the Pandemic
Unlike other pandemics, COVID-19 has caused a significant economic impact that makes it difficult for firms to predict the extent of the crisis that will hit them. Women employees, businesses, and income localities have concerns about their economic outcomes. Women have made remarkable progress in the recent decade in the labor market. The fears are more acute in developing countries because women are on the verge of total breakdown. Many women in developing counties work in the informal sectors, and they are unregistered. When individuals work in the informal sector, they lack legal protection and are not considered in any employee benefit scheme (Uddin, 2021). The economic fallout from COVID-19 has exposed women to the harsh reality of losing their independence. In areas such as retail activities, air travel, tourism, and accommodation services, women make an impact, yet they are hit hard. The garment industries are writing off their employees, and most of them are usually women. The global distribution chain has canceled the export of products. Job loss deepened by the economic contraction confines women, biting their longevity. Women across the OECD countries have seen a sharp rise in business closures and resignations because they move into unpaid home care.
Women-led Business Risks during the Pandemic
The crisis has struck small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The trade-economic challenge is constantly unfolding, thereby exposing more women that are self-employed. Whenever the supply chain is affected, the impact on SMEs is usually higher because retail, tourism, and the transport sector experience a fallout due to the containment measures. The COVID-19 pandemic has collapsed the demand and supply chain emanating from the liquidity shortage (Adisa et al., 2021). Equally, many countries lack the facilities that allow their workforce to engage in distant work formulas. The disadvantaged lot are the women because their SMEs are usually assumed during the pandemic, making them vulnerable to economic changes. According to OECD statistics, about 5% of businesses are owned by women, while 3% are trying to start new business ventures (less than 42 months). Women have resilience, but the pandemic has made them susceptible to downturns.
Risk of Women’s Poverty
Women are more vulnerable than men are during and after the pandemic. For instance, OECD countries have men earning more than women, and the reflection of such objectivism results in a raised poverty rate. They hold less wealth because of various inequalities within the employment sector (Adisa et al., 2021). Since they have caring responsibilities, women find it hard to secure another employment stream after a lay-off. Many single parents are women, which makes them particularly vulnerable in society—the reliance on a job when an individual is critical for a single parent. Evidence attained from the 2008 financial crisis showed that single parents were hit harder by the recession (Adisa et al., 2021). The pandemic has been demonstrated that children of single parents are missing their meals and other fundamental nutrition because their mothers have been laid off. The elderly are also affected by the pandemic since they do not have anyone to turn to whenever they need help. Women are more likely to live alone while in their prime age than men. The challenge of getting support is low while being exposed to COVID-19 is higher.
Effect of COVID-19 on Women in Developing Countries
Women in developing countries are exposed to COVID-19 and other health risks because their countries’ infrastructure is inadequate or underdeveloped. The risk stems are disproportionate responsibilities as the women revolve around unpaid home and health work. The ratio of unpaid work in developing countries is three times more in developing countries than in developed countries. The Caribbean and Latin America have more unpaid workers than Northern America (Saad Alfarran, 2021). The working environment of people in developing countries exposes them to the risk of getting COVID-19 due to their limited infrastructure in the healthcare sector and caring roles. The pandemic has shifted many medical practitioners into isolation sectors to contain COVID-19 prevalence, and this has made women get overwhelmed by other failing systems such as maternal health. Women are vulnerable to health risks because their working environment poses a threat (Saad Alfarran, 2021). For instance, women in developed countries live below the poverty line and the hierarchy of poverty, resulting in discriminatory social norms and other harmful social practices to fend for themselves.
Gender-Based Violence
Violence against women has always risen whenever there is a pandemic. For instance, the Ebola pandemic in West Africa registered many violence cases against women. When the confinement measures are increased, violence against women and children also increases. The cancellation of social events such as sports events and the closure of public places stirs sexual violence and abuse (Saad Alfarran, 2021). For instance, the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone showed a significant rise in forced transactional sex, whereby girls were left without relatives, and they had to cover their basic needs. Seeking refuge during the COVID-19 pandemic has given abusers more control over women. Every pandemic comes with patriarchal masculinities and inherent tension.
Conclusion
Women should be placed in the center of utmost care whenever a pandemic strikes.. The constrained resources should be shared during and after any pandemic. The globe should adopt coordinated strategies to restore the roles and responsibilities of women in the economic outlook. The risk-based approach can aggravate survival and contain the spread of COVID-19. The overburdened ship of violence against women can be combated by passing rules to adopt rights and liberties. Integrating the functionality and leadership to have seats for women can improve their ideologies and decision-making objectives. The great resignation can be reduced by assuring women of their children’s safety. Equally, they can be given assurance that the pandemic will not affect their family members.
References
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Saad Alfarran, A. (2021). The Impact of Remote Work on Women’s Work-life Balance and Gender-role Attitudes in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Gender and Women’s Studies, 9(2).
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