Despite its wide geographic spread, the COVID-19 pandemic has not affected everyone in the same way. The attempts of key age of COVID-19 involve each one of us, but the impacts of these choices are neither equally shared nor highly visible. As we have seen with the Ebola crisis in West Africa and other pandemics, attempts by key decision-makers to curtail the negative impacts of COVID-19 on public health and the economy, in fact, generate a multitude of unintended negative consequences for women and girls, and in most instances further exacerbate existing gender inequalities.
The challenges women face are complex and interrelated. For instance, a woman’s financial independence may be hindered by unequally distributed domestic burdens and low decision-making power at home. The lack of women in leadership positions can result in policies that perpetuate existing gender norms and inequities across entire nations. Listing these issues as isolated events does not do justice to the interconnectedness between them. However, being aware of the range of challenges that disproportionately affect women has helped our clients and partners think about their responses in a more gender-sensitive way (see graphic).
The severity and prevalence of all of these issues differ between and within countries. These issues also intersect with age, sexual orientation, economic class, race, religion, and physical abilities. Yet one thing is clear: the negative effects are disproportionate for women everywhere.
Both men and women can mitigate the disproportionate impact of these inequities. In this blog, we lay out three categories for how you can think about your pandemic response: in your home, in your organization, and in your initiative and program design.
In Your Home
- Ensure that men and boys share domestic and care work equally with women and girls: Create time to discuss with everyone in your household what needs to be done and how to divide this work. Creative tactics to facilitate these conversations can include games, such as Fair Play. Beyond conversations at the household level, you can have discussions with your employers about how you can flex your capacity to share the domestic and care load with others in your home. Examples include modified schedules, reduced hours, and adjusted expectations and workflow.
- Explore how to compensate those doing domestic work and care: Women lead a large proportion of the informal and formal care economy. If you have the means, consider how you can provide financial support to those who usually help you, such as caregivers and cleaners. In India, for example, the Prime Minister urged citizens in a televised speech to continue to pay support staff during the nation-wide Seattle hookup dating sites lockdown.
In Your Organization
- Include (and demand) female voices in decision-making: If women are not already represented in key decision-making positions, bring them in now. Organizations with greater gender balance have been found to outperform male-dominated ones by almost 2% on average each year in non-crisis settings. Balance in perspectives and experiences is even more vital in times of crisis. From global health to economic decision-making, being intentional about having women in leadership positions is critical to designing more equitable solutions. Efforts like Operation ‘s crowdsourced list of women health security experts can provide ways to boost female representation in decision-making.
- Adopt gender-inclusive workplace practices, measure their impact, and celebrate their success: The pandemic offers an opportunity for employers across sectors to support the shift to more equitable practices among male and female employees. Offer flexible working solutions for all and offer shifts at sociable hours for women to reduce their risks of travelling alone. For employees with young children or elderly who need care, sensitize managers to explicitly recognize the burden of care on both male and female colleagues. Do not assume that men will continue to work at 100% capacity-doing so will only exacerbate gender inequities at the household level. Make sure to measure and track adjustments to inform which work practices you should retain after the pandemic. For example, research has found that companies that do not offer flexible working underperform over a five-year period. Could flexible working provide a way forward for your organization? It is important to also ensure that performance management does not favor those without additional care responsibilities during the pandemic. Instead, celebrate and reward shared care-recognizing your employees’ efforts can demonstrate your commitment to their wellbeing and normalize a more equitable division of household labor.