The economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic left about 50 million women in conditions of poverty, according to estimates made by UN-Women.
Anita Bhatia, deputy executive director of this organization, indicated this Thursday, November 25, that in developing countries most women work in the informal sectorIt was the one that had the most repercussions due to the confinement, in some places it was partial or total, and many women “were already on the edge of poverty, they fell into it.”
In the context of recession, governments prepared stimulus packages and post-crisis economic recovery aimed at social programs, or to remedy youth unemployment, or to pay for insurance, but there are very few cases of specific assistance programs for women.
Also during the pandemic, women added activities related to caring for family members and domestic chores, which were previously tasks that were already carried out by said sector of the population, “now this phenomenon has worsened, either due to gender stereotypes or cultural issues ”, and domestic responsibilities have fallen more heavily on women.
The UN-Women deputy executive director pointed out that these are tasks that “slowed women’s ability to return to the labor market or even their desire to do so ”and consequently the percentage of salaried women decreased.
For Bhatia, the recipes to promote a reengagement of women in the world of work are clear: “public and private policies” are needed that allow the creation of nurseries or school menus, since only with help from above will they achieve the women feel somehow liberated from housework.
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