Published 22:19 IST, August 22nd 2020
"Gender equality must form the core of post-COVID economic development": ILO
"Women were always worst affected in the economic market. The pandemic has only made things worse," said Valentina Esquivel, senior officer, ILO
COVID-19 has rendered thousands across the planet unemployed, with the graph being even more disproportionate for Women.
Globally, the employment statistics were highly disproportional for women and the pandemic has further made the situation even worse, said the International Labour Organization.
The director-general of the ILO had also mentioned that the pay gap had existed for a long time. However, now nations must make an attempt to understand and find out the reasons behind the same.
"The gap could widen, since most working women may end up doing household chores during the period of home-isolation and the jobs, which used to pay menially, would soon be ouside the labourt market," said Anita Bhatia, assistant Secretary-General and deputy executive director of the United Nations' women's agency.
"Before the Coronavirus crisis had even taken shape, a huge chunk of females had been barred from the labor market. The pandemic has only made things worse," said Valeria Esquivel, a senior officer at the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Officer Esquivel further mentioned that "the rate at which females are losing their jobs is way higher than the rate at which most men are losing their jobs. In sectors such as hospitality and garments, more women are involved in comparison to men."
"More women are involved than men in domestic work, and the pandemic has only made it worse," further added Esquivel.
"The Healthcare industry, which has more female workers in comparison to the male workers, has jeopardized the condition of the women even more," said Officer Esquivel.
"Women, in general, are in a more fragile situation when compared to their male counterparts. Access to social and labor protection is even less for the latter, which implies that they are much more vulnerable to their male counterparts, even in the sectors that have not witnessed any kind of disruption as yet," further mentioned the ILO officer.
"The state must try its best to protect females from losing jobs. Policies, that protect the employment of women must be further made stronger since it would be tougher for them to find employment, even after the crisis subsides," added Esquivel.
"The ployment services, which connect the seekers and the employers, must further be strengthened so that females also find it easier to seek employment in services that would be essential in the future. Also, any kind of expenditure that would ever take place in public funding, would only worsen things for young women. Hence, any kind of expenditure by the government shall be avoided at all costs," added Officer Esquivel.
(with inputs from ILO, ANI, WEF)
(Image Credits- ANI)
Updated 22:57 IST, August 22nd 2020