Women and the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 has undoubtedly disrupted the world order as it existed. However, in all the discussions of its impact, gender is hardly ever mentioned. We conveniently ignore that the pandemic has shaped gender relationships and often leads to differential treatment to women, (Naskar, S. 2020). If anything, the crisis caused by Coronavirus laid bare our assumptions about not only the fragility of our healthcare system but also exposed the existing status quo of women and minority groups in the society.

Many researches have shown that unemployment has affected women more severely than men. In the paper titled, ‘Down and Out? The Gendered Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on India’s Labour Market’, it was indicated that women were seven times more likely to lose jobs during the national lockdown and they were eleven times more likely to not return to work subsequently. (Abraham, R., Basole, A. & Kesar, S. 2020). A research by LinkedIn stated that the pandemic is taking a toll on the emotional well-being of India's working women as 47 per cent report they are experiencing more stress or anxiety due to the pandemic.

For working mothers, the pandemic has been a balancing act to maintain work and home life. One participant stated in a research, “I felt that it was a bit difficult to manage everything all at once for one person. I did feel that domains were crashing. Earlier you are able to compartmentalize more. Right now, those compartments were intermingled.” Such feelings brought on feelings of ‘irritableness’ and ‘not feeling productive enough’ (Goyal, M. 2021). Most of these women did not have the adequate resources to deal with such challenges such as lack of support from extended families or the aid of house helps to reduce the burden of house chores.

It is important to also include within our purview the plight of working women belonging to lower socioeconomic groups as well. A study (Travasso, S., Rajaraman, D. & Heymann, S.J. 2014) stated that low-income urban working mothers face a range of challenges in their domestic, environmental, and working conditions that may affect their mental health. This qualitative study raises concerns that low-income working mothers in urban areas in India are at a high risk for depression. Routine child care concerns were a source of anxiety for mothers of young children.

With the pandemic, the definition of parenting, and motherhood has drastically changed. As a byproduct of the lockdown, the performative element of parenting in middle- and upper-middle-class urban India has declined. There is less pressure on children, simply because there are fewer goals available. This means parents are seeing their children differently; seeing them for who they are, as one put it, rather than as an amalgam of the various children they’ve been. There’s a back-to-the-basics clarity about the role of the parent. Keep the child safe, keep them fed, keep them occupied and calm, and talk, talk, talk. In most cases, parents have seen children reciprocate in kind, whether they’re 6 or 16.

The only silver lining through all this has been the amount of time spent with family. Far from the hustle bustle of everyday work life, now family actually sit together for meals, recreational activities and even house chores. Despite the generational or gender differences, there’s a common thread of shared lived experiences through the pandemic that have mended and even formed new bonds among family members. The concept of parenting itself has undergone a massive change. A few mothers expressed forming long lasting relationship with their children because of the ample time at their hands a close proximity. As all of them were working parents, it enabled them to spend more time with their children that they did not otherwise get (Goyal, M. 2021).

The need of the hour is to tackle the gender differences by having more inclusive policies and resources in place. Gender sensitive planning is necessary at such a time. Policy decisions need to articulate gendered concerns during public health emergencies because gender-sensitive pandemic planning may substantially mitigate these concerns. Employers need to be especially sensitive to the concerns of working women by offering flexible working hours including part-time schedules, providing for childcare support. Hiring agencies should become more sensitive towards working mothers especially if there are gaps in their resume or if they ask for more time off for caregiving duties.

References

1. Fegert, J. M. (2020). Challenges and burden of the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic for child and adolescent mental health: A narrative review to highlight clinical and research needs in the acute phase and the long return to normality. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health,, 14(20).

2. Goyal, M. (2021). Effect of COVID-19 on Financial and Mental stability - A Comparison in Upper and Lower Socio-Economic Groups. Unpublished manuscript.

3. Miller, C. (2021) One person, several roles: How working moms are struggling; here’s what would help, The Economic Times. Retrieved from: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/one-person-several-roles-how-working-moms-are-struggling-heres-what-would-help/articleshow/80721994.cms

4. Naskar, S. The Gendered Impact of Coronavirus Pandemic In India, Outlook Magazine.

5. Press Trust India, (2020) Nearly 50% of India's working women feeling increased stress due to pandemic: Survey, The Tribune. Retrieved from: https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/1-in-2-working-women-in-india-suffering-from-pandemic-stress-139193

6. Travasso, S.M., Rajaraman, D. & Heymann, S.J. (2014). A qualitative study of factors affecting mental health amongst low-income working mothers in Bangalore, India. BMC Women's Health, 14(22). https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6874-14-2