Research from countless organisations over the course of the Covid pandemic has consistently pointed to a hefty gender disparity when it comes to who is bearing the biggest economic burden from the crisis, with repeated warnings that a decade or more of progress on women’s economic empowerment is set to be thrown into reverse.
One of the main reasons cited for this is that the virus increases the load of unpaid domestic care, which is disproportionately carried by women. This, among other factors, means that women’s jobs are more vulnerable than those of men.
The latest in a long string of evidence on this is a recent survey carried out by the Trades Union Congress, which found that nearly one in five working mothers have had to reduce their employment hours during lockdown. Meanwhile, seven out of 10 eligible mothers who have asked for furlough said their request had been refused by their employer.