COVID 19 Effects on Women

1. Covid 19′ and women

• • COVID-19 is negatively affecting women, not only due to health and safety risks, but also due to the increased burden of housework and caregiving and domestic violence.
• About 70% of the world’s health and social welfare sectors are made up of women . Women are at the forefront, including medical workers, and are at risk from prolonged labor and contact with patients. However, women’s labor tends to be undervalued, such as low wages.
  • • There is a 28% gender wage gap in the sector, which can worsen in times of crisis.

  In Hubei Province, China, where the virus started, more than 90% of medical workers are made up of women .

• • 55.8% of the global service industry is female workers. In the G7, 88% of the workforce is women. Most service workers are unable to work in an environment that is isolated from the outside due to the nature of their work, and many of them bear the burden of unpaid care work for their children or elderly family members in addition to paid work.

• • Closing schools and child care facilities places women with additional housekeeping and care burdens .
    • • More than 85 countries have imposed school bans nationwide, which is expected to affect approximately 76.7 million children (UNESCO, 2020). This will be a greater burden for women who already perform three times more unpaid housekeeping and care work than men .

• • The impact on “non-essential” businesses, such as the service sector, is particularly damaging to women who are self-employed or working as employees . Many of them are losing their means of living because of the nature of their work that makes it impossible to work from home.
    • • In addition, about 740 million women are employed in non-regular workers with low wages.
    • • In Bangladesh, more than 100 factories have been shut down due to a retailer’s shutdown and the resulting decline in orders. The apparel industry currently employs 4 million workers, but most of them are at risk of unemployment or losing a stable source of income.

What is the Difference Between Male and Female Skin

• Isolation and social distancing are more likely to lead to the threat and abuse of domestic violence . Women in violent relationships are not only exposed to the perpetrator for long periods of time, but are also in a situation where they cannot leave home or ask for help.
  • • Domestic violence already kills 137 women worldwide every day, according to UN Women. During quarantine, women who have become victims of violence because of being women are very difficult to access protective services.
  • • With the spread of the coronavirus, domestic violence has been reported to increase in China.
• Social distancing cannot be a viable system for everyone. Millions of households need food, clothes, and outside support for showers.
  • • In most societies, women have a higher rate of caring for patients in the medical setting and at home than men. In this setting, women are more likely to get infected than men.
  • • Women are more dependent on public transportation than men. They use public transport to go to work, care for relatives, and grocery shopping, which can lead to greater risks.

• • Of the more than 29 million papers published at the time of the Zika and Ebola epidemic, only about 1% investigated the impact of gender-specific outbreaks .
    • • Lack of information not only hinders informed prevention and containment efforts, it also leads to a lack of insight where the spread of the disease is poorly tracked.
    • • This highlights the importance of establishing disaggregated data to prepare for the future.
• Access to information such as women’s outbreaks and available services is very limited when the majority of community involvement teams are men.
  • • The percentage of women on the World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 Emergency Committee is only 20%. In addition, only 16% of the WHO-China cooperation teams are women.
  • • In the United States, 10% of women on the Coronavirus Task Force team.
  • • Among the media reports related to COVID-19, men’s comments are three times as likely as women’s.

2. Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) Action Plan The

Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) provide seven principles for companies to promote gender equality and to strengthen women’s empowerment in the workplace, market, and community. In times of upheaval and uncertainty, WEPs are the best source of information to provide a way to protect the most vulnerable in the private sector. WEPs have been developed in accordance with international labor and human rights standards and are built on the recognition that companies are responsible for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Also Read: Changes after COVID-19: The Future of the Fashion Industry

leadership

• • Through consulting with internal and stakeholders, we check whether specific policies and crisis response measures for COVID-19 are sensitive and comprehensive to gender issues.

• • We openly declare the will of the CEO and management to address the issue of gender inequality that may arise during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• • Form a diverse delegation with gender equality experts in the Crisis Task Force and Response Team and ensure that men and women make decisions together.

• • Through the establishment of clear internal communication channels, we provide employees with regular and accurate updates on the COVID-19 situation.

• • It solves the limitations of existing information and communication technology infrastructure, supports facilities for large-scale remote work, and minimizes the burden.

Rectal

• • We provide additional help that female employees need, such as flexible working hours.

• • Introducing paid flexible work for all employees, paying minimum risk costs for short-term and contract employees, and providing paid family and emergency leave.

• • Encourage male staff to care for children, seniors and other family members.

• • Consider the physical, mental and emotional health of all employees and raise awareness of the increase in domestic violence against women.

• • Information on public services including domestic violence hotline and violence survivor support services, psychosocial support services, and postnatal health care is widely shared with all employees.

Market

• • You have the opportunity to discover new local businesses, especially women-led companies. Sourcing your products/services to support them and encourage business partners and employees to get involved.

• • It provides debt waiver to female entrepreneurs who have stopped doing business due to COVID-19 and have to pay off their debts, and provide related financial products and services to prevent bankruptcy.

• • Remove stereotypes that can negatively impact all internal and external communications and consistently demonstrate a positive gender role. In addition, we must listen to the voices of girls and women and strive to meet their needs. By strengthening the capabilities of everyone, we can overcome problems together in times of crisis.

Community

• • Promote social awareness and visibility of small independent organizations working at the forefront of COVID-19.

• • Provides organizations and institutions such as women’s associations and shelters to assist women with specific needs, such as elderly women, survivors of violence, single mothers and women with disabilities.

• • We donate personal protective equipment, food, and services to support individuals’ daily lives in the community, and provide short-term probation for rent and utility bills.

Transparency and reporting

• • Collect data broken down by gender, age, and other factors to track the impact of your response efforts.

• • As part of our support for WEPs, we share information on gender differentiation responses to COVID-19.

• • Use messages for support and awareness-raising through communication channels

3. Relationship with TGE The
Challenges facing businesses and the world today further highlight the need for full women’s participation and representation in decision-making. To this end, we will continue to strive to improve women’s leadership.

It is very important to ensure that women’s perspectives and knowledge influence policies and actions in all sectors, including business, and are included in the decision-making process. Research shows that a high percentage of women in corporate leadership, including boards and senior executives, leads to improved corporate performance and better decision-making, including ESG.

To promote women’s representation and leadership within the company, Target Gender Equality (TGE) helps companies break down invisible barriers for a more inclusive corporate culture and equality. In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, inclusive and inclusive business practices have turned out to be more valuable. Companies that have already introduced a family-friendly corporate policy and flexible work system are ahead. We need to make a conscious effort to create an inclusive culture where employees feel they are being supported by the company, they can freely comment, and brainstorm together. This will make the company more innovative.

We look forward to more businesses creating flexible, inclusive and family-friendly workplaces. We also want women and men alike to have a balance in caring for their families and doing housework. At the same time, the crisis we are facing today is just one of the many problems we may face in the future to come, such as changes in the future work environment, changes in population and technology, or changes in the environment. This is the time when a sustainable strategy is needed to respond to the upcoming megatrends.

It is difficult to practice. That’s why TGE helps companies set and achieve ambitious goals. It also plays a role in developing an action plan that minimizes common problems in this process and prioritizes strategies. Based on input from international and local experts, we are working together to close the gender economic gap.