COVID-19 is reversing progress on the road to equality for women in work
Governments and businesses must take action to address the fallout of the pandemic.
Alex Robinson Photography
COVID-19 is harming women’s labor market outcomes more than men’s. In previous pandemics and financial crises, white-collar workers and male-dominated industries were the first to see jobs disappear. But COVID-19 has hit faster and harder those who are the most vulnerable in society those working in lower-paid roles; in sectors like retail, accommodation, and tourism, which have been largely shut down by COVID lockdowns. And the labor force in these sectors is disproportionately female.