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  • 10. března 2021

COVID-19 derails gender equality gains

COVID-19 and women.

It has now been a year since the coronavirus stopped our International Women’s Day celebrations and changed our lives. The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) have some brand new findings on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on gender equality:

Here are some of the main findings from the EIGE studies:

  • Severe job losses in women-dominated professions

During the first wave of the pandemic, employment for women dropped by 2.2 million across the EU. There were severe losses in women-dominated professions, with 40 % of all lost employment for women coming from the retail, accommodation, residential care, domestic work and clothing manufacturing sectors. 

  • Work-life balance pressures have increased for women

Despite men taking on more care responsibilities than before, women’s share of unpaid work has increased. According to the EIGE study, mothers are more involved in online schooling than fathers, and have to deal with more interruptions by children during their paid work. This lowers their productivity and could negatively affect their career progression and pay.

  • Inadequate support measures for domestic violence victims

The pandemic has led to a rise in reports of domestic violence. During the first wave, shelter and counselling staff were often overwhelmed due to increased demand. Support services need more funding and should be declared ‘essential’ to keep them operating at all times, even during lockdowns.

The Council Library is proud to be a partner of the EIGE Resource and Documentation Centre. You can find more EIGE publications in our Eureka catalogue.

This post does not necessarily represent the positions, policies, or opinions of the Council of the European Union or the European Council.

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