Emancipation or Subordination? The Place of Women in Times of Crisis (Note)

Summary:

· The side effects of a crisis such as that caused by Covid-19 could reverse the progress already made in terms of gender equality.

· Women are more exposed to the socioeconomic vulnerabilities resulting from a crisis, such as unemployment, violence, lack of social protection, and increased poverty.

· Despite many achievements, women still find themselves in a « peripheral » position in economic and social life.

· Considering the gender dimension in all socioeconomic policies has the potential to produce better and more sustainable development outcomes.

Usefulness: Crises have the potential to exacerbate women’s vulnerabilities due to their « peripheral«  position in economic and social life. Taking gender into account in all socioeconomic policies could produce better and more sustainable development outcomes.

United Nations reports highlight that the crisis caused by the novel coronavirus could reverse the progress already made in terms of gender equality and women’s rights. Although men are 50% to 80% more likely to die from COVID-19, in economic and social terms, women are the most severely affected by the pandemic. This phenomenon has the potential to exacerbate existing inequalities for women in all areas—from health and the economy to security and social protection. According to the report « Women at the heart of the fight against the Covid-19 crisis » published in April 2020 by the OECD[4], women are more exposed to the risk of infection and the resulting social vulnerabilities of the pandemic, such as unemployment, violence, lack of access to health services, and increased poverty.

1. Women’s vulnerabilities in the time of Covid-19

In terms of working conditions, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO), women are more vulnerable to labor market pressures in both developed and developing countries. However, this vulnerability is even more significant in the latter, particularly among informal workers, who are the most affected in times of crisis. Although globally the proportion of women in informal employment is lower than that of men, there are more countries (55.5%) where female participation in this type of employment exceeds male participation (Figure 1). In fact, women are more exposed to informality in more than 90% of countries in sub-Saharan Africa, 89% of countries in South Asia, and nearly 75% of countries in Latin America. These women do not benefit from any of the protections established by labor laws or social benefits such as retirement, health insurance, or paid leave. The lack of social protection also has a long-term impact, as fewer women receive retirement pensions, which increases their vulnerability and poverty in later life.

A major difference between men and women in informal employment is that women are more often found in the most vulnerable situations, as domestic workers or family workers. According to the ILO, 80% of domestic workers worldwide are women, and 75% of these jobs are in the informal sector. In addition, female participation in informal family worker occupations is three times higher than male participation[7]. These women regularly work for lower wages and in highly precarious conditions. They are also much more susceptible to abuse, sexual harassment, and unemployment.

It should also be noted that the jobs most exposed to disease, the so-called essential jobs, are predominantly held by women. In France, according to data from INSEE, nearly 90% of cashiers are women, as are 98% of home helpers and domestic workers, according to the National Union of Home Help, Care and Services (UNA). In addition, nine out of ten nurses are women, and this overrepresentation also applies to nursing assistants. Globally, according to United Nations data, women account for more than 80% of pre-primary/primary school teachers and are at the forefront of the healthcare system. Although they are underrepresented among doctors, dentists, and pharmacists, women account for about 85% of nurses and midwives. In total, they occupy about 70% of healthcare positions worldwide, which exposes them to an increased risk of Covid-19 infection.

Figure 1

Gender gap in informal employment as a share of total employment, including agriculture

(Percentage points, for the latest year available. IE = informal employment)

Source: ILO (2018).

In terms of living conditions, the lockdown policy implemented in many countries has resulted in family members spending much more time at home. This contributes to an overload of unpaid domestic work. According to United Nations data, 75% of these activities are carried out by women worldwide[9]. This reality means that these tasks end up disproportionately burdening women, compromising the time they can devote to other activities such as paid work or even leisure. Domestic violence and all types of domestic abuse are also aggravating factors, as these women have to live with their abusers for longer periods of time.

However, reality shows that economic and social phenomena have different effects on men and women and are not neutral in nature. To understand this female vulnerability, it is necessary to examine the determinants of this « non-neutrality » by analyzing the historical evolution of gender relations and the roots of gender-based discrimination.

2. Non-neutrality of socioeconomic phenomena

The challenges faced by women in times of crisis is a topic that has gained ground in debates among public and private decision-makers. Classical and neoclassical economic theories have often assumed that economic and social events are neutral, i.e., that they do not have different effects on men and women or on different agents in society. However, changes in economic and social activity can have an impact on the labor market and on the allocation of individuals’ time (allocation of time spent on paid work versus time spent on unpaid domestic tasks versus time spent on leisure activities). This reality ultimately affects men and women differently, given their gender segmentation.

Differences in the socioeconomic roles of men and women largely explain the gender-differentiated effects of economic and social policies. One way to understand these differences is to differentiate between paid and unpaid work, including so-called reproductive aspects of work. Reproductive work is the work of those responsible for the reproduction of society. Generally unpaid, it includes activities related to the maintenance and reproduction of the family or community (household chores, childcare, eldercare, etc.). This type of work is performed mainly by women and is a significant source of discrimination, even in the labor market.

A second line of analysis involves examining how social relations interact with the economic outcomes of different historical circumstances. Throughout history, women have disproportionately retained responsibility for performing this unpaid reproductive work. However, modern society has given rise to the quest for female « emancipation » —now referred to as empowerment—leading women to gradually enter the labor market (« productive work »). It is important to understand, however, that this late integration of women, as well as their ability to earn an income, does not automatically lead to « empowerment » and increased bargaining power within the family.

To understand this reality, it is necessary to examine the conditions under which women entered the productive labor market and how this late integration has evolved over the years.

3. Women’s integration into the labor market

Since the 18th century, women have gradually and significantly entered the workforce, reaching an activity rate of nearly 50% today. However, although more than 307 million women have joined the labor market over the past 20 years, they still represent only 39% of the global workforce. Furthermore, as school enrollment rates have increased worldwide, particularly among women, labor force participation rates have declined among school-age youth. This has led to a more significant decline in labor force participation among women, with the female participation rate relative to the male participation rate falling from 67.5% in 1998 to 66.6% in 2019.

At a more disaggregated level, female participation in developing countries varies considerably, much more so than male participation. In the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia, less than 30% of women participate in the labor force (Figure 2)—well below the global average—while the figure for men is over 73%. However, female participation rates increased slightly in the Middle East and North Africa from 1998 to 2018, while rates declined in South Asia. In these three regions, lifestyles within patriarchal societies, where men still occupy the center of political, economic, and social structures, seem to continue to restrict women’s opportunities to engage in activities outside the home[14].

Figure 2

Regional estimates of female labor force participation rates

(Adult population, age group 15+)

Source: ILO Statistical Database, ILOSTAT; Verick (2018)

With regard to wage inequality, although the gender pay gap has narrowed considerably in recent decades[15], women continue to earn less than men on average (Figure 3). This is because the highest-paying sectors of activity are dominated by male workers. In addition, disparities can still be observed within the same sector of activity. This phenomenon can be explained by the fact that men and women do not necessarily occupy the same positions in the professional hierarchy. Women face greater difficulties in accessing higher-level and better-paid positions due to several factors, including the burden of reproductive work, and as a result, they encounter a« glass ceiling. »

Figure 3

Gender pay gap weighted according to factors*[17]

(Percentage)

Source: International Labor Organization (ILO, 2020).

*Note: The gender pay gap adjusted for factors adjusts differences in average hourly wages according to education level, age, working hours (full-time versus part-time), and status (private sector versus public sector employment).

Furthermore, economic literature shows that the feminization of the workforce is linked to the expansion of informality, reinforced by the hypertrophy of the tertiary sector[18]. With greater flexibility to respond to the creation of more precarious jobs, women would benefit from so-called perverse comparative advantages. However, many women would accept lower-paid work in exchange for more flexible hours and proximity to their homes in order to be able to reconcile productive and reproductive work. Indeed, flexibility in terms of employment volume and working hours is essentially guaranteed by women in the working models currently adopted at the international level[19].

Thus, gender relations could be compared to center-periphery relations: while women have succeeded in gaining ground in the economy and society, they still have to reconcile progress and setbacks in the face of the precariousness of late entry into the labor market. Consequently, when the socioeconomic environment begins to show signs of stagnation, with declining employment and income levels, women are the first to suffer. Indeed, economic literature shows that in past health crises and a series of financial crises, women have fared less well than men.

The reality is that there is still a long way to go in the quest for women’s emancipation. Targeting public and private funds at improving living conditions in societies, also from a gender perspective, is essential to minimize the adverse effects of a crisis, which highlight the persistent economic and social gap between women and men. Institutions and governments will need to strengthen their social protection and economic recovery programs for women to compensate for their vulnerabilities.

Furthermore, it is also important to mention the importance of eliminating gender stereotypes from an early age and throughout society, so as to enable women to engage in traditionally male-dominated activities and vice versa. In addition, removing barriers to women’s career advancement, particularly those due to an imbalance in reproductive responsibilities between men and women and gender discrimination, must also be a priority. The development of paternity leave and mechanisms to minimize the negative effects of motherhood on women’s integration and career advancement could be some of the solutions. To this end, the model adopted in Sweden, in which fathers and mothers are entitled to share 480 days of leave, could represent a path toward the development of more egalitarian economic and social models in both developed and developing economies.

4. Conclusion

There is no doubt that gender must be taken into account in all socioeconomic policies. While women are a group that is more vulnerable to the side effects of a crisis, they also play an essential role in the recovery and well-being of communities. Placing women at the center of economies would therefore have the potential to produce better and more sustainable development outcomes. This could support a faster recovery, ensuring well-being and equal opportunities for men and women.