On Sunday last, this newspaper’s “Women’s Chronicles” column saw women addressing their disappointment at the hoops they were being made to jump through to visit non-Covid-19 patients at the Georgetown Public Hospital. While the measures being taken are necessary to prevent people who are already ill from coming into contact with anyone who might be carrying the virus as well as to maintain the hospital’s sterile environment, the mainly women visitors expressed frustration at the long lines, delays and sometimes being denied entry after an extended wait. They also bemoaned finding their helpless relatives in conditions which made it obvious that their personal hygiene needs had been neglected.
As horrible as this sounds it is not the worst issue women have had to navigate since the onset of Covid-19 and the necessary lockdowns to contain its spread. In April, the UN began reporting a horrifying global surge in domestic violence (DV) and femicide owing to women being forced to remain locked down with their abusers. Since then, calls have been made for ramping up funding and support for DV organisations, programmes, and shelters. Money diverted to addressing the novel coronavirus meant resources for women affected by DV were dwindling.
Tentative reports estimate that physically, men are more affected by Covid-19 than women. They somehow seem to be more susceptible to contracting it, falling ill, and dying as a result. Data from several countries around the world suggests this, though it is yet to be comprehensively studied. But the Covid-19 pandemic is not just a magnitude 10 public-health crisis, it is also an economic catastrophe with societal ramifications, and it is in this way that women bear the brunt of it.
According to a study published by UN Women and the World Bank in 2017, more women than men live in poverty, but the incidence differs by age, marital status, household composition and other factors. It was found that poverty rates are the same throughout childhood but increase for women during their childbearing years and again in old age. Women are poorer than men in all races and ethnic groups. Among single parents, over 75 percent are women and 90 percent of them are poorer than their male counterparts.
According to the World Health Organisation, women workers make up 70 percent of the global health and social sector. Women in general, but more so single mothers, form the bulk of the nurture/care industry or what is known in the United States as “pink-collar” workers: nurses, teachers, child carers, nurse aides, elderly carers, cleaners, and waitresses. The essential workforce in every country is staffed with more women than men. With the exception of teachers and waitresses, they have been doing the heavy lifting during this period that has seen unprecedented numbers needing medical care.
Globally, these women earn 11 percent less than men in the same field. And while in some countries women doctors had almost reached parity with men this year, they were less likely to be specialists. Last year, for the first time ever, the Association of American Medical Colleges reported, US medical schools had more women (50.5 percent) than men enrolled. How or if Covid-19 affects this will likely be known by the end of this year.
Last year, at a meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UN Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka had lamented that gains made toward gender equity were fragile. “Overall, progress is uneven, slow, insufficient and subject to backsliding. This picture indicates a worrying trend for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” she said. Covid-19’s wallop has undoubtedly knocked those fragile gains several steps back.
Women, including those who work outside the home, were already doing the majority of the housework, even those who have spouses. The amusing lockdown videos that have been trending during this period fail to show how much more work is involved now that homeschooling has been added to the already innumerable tasks. Most videos are a minute or two at most, children are at home all day and in some cases their mothers have to work from home as well. Worse off though are those single mothers who found themselves laid off and unable to make bill payments or purchase food and those who also have elderly or ill relatives to care for.
Grim is perhaps a mild term to describe the situation, particularly as it affects women. Infection surges in semi-open countries show that the pandemic is far from over. Sadly, the longer it lasts, the deeper the slide into poverty for the most vulnerable. Governments’ responses, with very few exceptions, have been reactive, even in the face of evidence that action was needed. Financial and other assistance have also been planned for the short term, although no one knows for sure when this will all end.
Regaining the ground lost in the struggle for gender equity will need empathy, savvy, and political will. Only a few world leaders possess these qualities and they are not among the pompous schmoozers constantly grabbing headlines. They will need to step up to the plate when the times comes.
