The COVID 19 situation or the Corona Virus has taken on the proportions of a worrisome character straight out of some of the most popular doomsday style movies. The character of the Corona Virus seems to be spin off that brings on all the cine villains like Godzilla, Hulk and many others rolled into one – such is the hold of the pandemic. And apart from death and destruction of the immune system, this character is also busy disrupting many areas of our normals lives from simple grocery buying options to even job loss and a complete standstill of the industries around us. Unemployment seems to be the biggest side effect of this pandemic, yet there is an even more disturbing insight coming from this area – women losing more jobs than men. True or false?
Well, to begin with, let us look at global unemployment figures. US has recently announced that over 1.5 million additional people have filed for unemployment benefits, to add to the already sky high figure of 44 million individuals who has filed claims earlier. In India, the figures are on the rise too. Yet, there is a twist to the tale in a place like India when it comes to women losing more jobs than men, here. There are more men who are in active participation when it comes to employment, rather than women. This is because the bulk of the household chores fall on the women’s shoulders in our country. In a study that ran across almost 200,000 households, it was found that more women losing their jobs than men has become a norm. During the pandemic, this has become a norm since women are more prone to step down in such an event.
Rural women in particular seem to be the biggest ones who have been hit by this trend. The reason women losing their jobs more than men is such a great trend in our country could also be attributed to the fact that many rural women are busy earning for the household by pitching their services as maid servants. With the onset of the pandemic and the lock down, they were the first to lose their jobs and many of them were not even properly compensated for the same. Further, many rural women sell farm grown vegetables and even have their own small industries that sell various home made products like pickles and more. They have been hit since their products cannot be supplied to the right vendors at the right time because of the lock down. These are the facts that have led to more women losing their jobs than men.
With such a trend, urban and rural women have been badly hit and they would need to first organize their homes and lives before they think of getting back to the work force. This saddening trend needs to be met with proper measures by the government so that women are able to get back to earning a livelihood alongside men. This could also include the announcement of seasonal jobs by well known companies. Policies to give loans to women entrepreneurs should also be put in place. At the same time, women who are not able to get back to work should be given free resources to build up their skills for the future.
