Wonder Women: The Covid impact on women and girls

The Women's Network took a leap of faith when the Ministry for Women announced their Covid-19 Community Fund in June.

In their role as the Government's principal adviser on achieving better outcomes for women and girls, the ministry has been particularly focused upon looking at how Covid-19 is affecting women in particular.

The Community Fund targeted organisations that provide services or support to women and girls, notably those experiencing an increased demand for services or a shortfall of funding due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and who had not received any other government support during this time. We fit all the criteria for this, and were thrilled when we received the news that we had been successful in our application.

As the global pandemic continues to unfold and we all try to understand the full impact upon humanity, the economy, and our daily lives, international research highlights the disproportionate impact of such an event upon women and girls.

Covid-19 can be considered in comparison with other significant emergencies or disasters in which existing inequalities are exacerbated, notably by gender.

Evidence from previous global pandemics and also from the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes found that women were more likely to be negatively affected by social, economic, and health issues: job losses, loss of income, increased unpaid caring roles, and increased exposure to harm and family violence. Further to this, some groups of women will experience greater impacts than others.

Women who fall into multiple groups experiencing existing inequalities may feel the combined effects of factors such as ethnicity, age, sexuality, and disability with gender.

Significantly, women are more likely to be disproportionately affected by downturns in the labour market and the expectation is that this trend will appear as the economic impacts of Covid-19 continue to develop.

The Household Labour Force Survey, for example, shows that women – especially non-Pākehā women – have been more severely affected by past crises and labour market shocks than men, most notably in response to the Global Financial Crisis of 2008.

In the 10 years following the GFC, the unemployment rate amongst wahine Māori and Pacific women has been between two and three times larger than that of European women, and has been slower to recover over time.

Existing inequalities such as the gender pay gap and occupational segregation, as well as issues in non-standard work and unpaid care, mean that women are more susceptible to economic hardship.

New Zealand's labour force is highly segregated by industry and gender, with women more likely to work in lower-paid jobs and part-time work. Women also make up the majority of our essential support workers – in the health sector, supermarkets, and caring roles, making them at higher risk of exposure to Covid-19. Furthermore, women comprise the majority (almost 60 per cent) of the retail trade and accommodation industry.

As an industry it receives the lowest median earnings of any sector and has been one of the hardest-hit in New Zealand, especially during the lockdown period. Particular groups of women will feel these impacts even more.

Wahine Māori and Pacific women, for example, are already impacted by existing inequalities, while being more likely to have additional financial and caring responsibilities for extended family members.

2018 Census data shows us that more women perform unpaid work than men. Of Census respondents who had looked after children in their household in the previous four weeks, 57.5 per cent were women. Of Census respondents who had looked after ill or disabled people in the household, 60.8 per cent were women. [Sourced from: https://women.govt.nz/news/covid-19-and-women]

Evidence shows that the risk of gender-based violence, such as family harm and sexual violence disproportionately affects women, and increases during national emergencies and disasters.

When households face social, health and economic pressures, rates of gender-based violence typically increase. These factors also mean that there may be greater prevalence of elder abuse.

Through understanding some of the themes identified in the early stages of Covid-19 response and recovery processes, both locally and nationally, an increase in service uptake of support from women's organisations supports the expected evidence-based trends.

Globally, we must continue to understand the impact of Covid-19 as a gendered issue, as well as a life-changing one in all its myriad forms.