COVID-19 and women

Women over 65

Older women are more likely to live alone and can have an increased risk of social isolation during the level 4 restrictions.[1] This may be compounded due to digital exclusion and the inability to provide or receive voluntary services. Although people of all ages can be infected by COVID-19, older people and people with pre-existing medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease) are more vulnerable to becoming severely ill. The rapid growth in COVID-19 has overrun health systems in many countries. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated the fatality rate at around two percent (January, 2020). This compares with the fatality rate for SARS at 10 percent, and MERS at 34 percent. Emerging evidence suggests that more men than women are dying of COVID-19.[2]

Disabled women

Disabled people may face disproportionate impacts of level 4 restrictions due to the reduction or limited access to health services and disruptions to the support services they rely on. People with disability may also be disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 because of existing health conditions, particularly those related to respiratory function, immune system function, heart disease or diabetes, which means they will be at greater risk of developing more severe cases of COVID-19 if they become infected. The may also experience difficulty in social distancing because of additional support needs or because they are institutionalised.

Rainbow/LGBTQI+ communities 

Level 4 restrictions may see younger rainbow/LBGTQI+ communities forced to stay in environments that are unaccepting or unsafe. Rainbow/LGBTQI+ communities may also be overrepresented in homelessness.

Women in migrant households

While New Zealand’s health information is multi-lingual, women in migrant households may still struggle to access information – in some European countries, migrant communities have suffered disproportionate numbers of death for this reason. Weaker social connections may also mean family violence goes unreported.

The impact on paid work

Women are often disproportionately affected by downturns in the labour market and that’s likely to be the case again with COVID-19’s economic impacts. The Household Labour Force Survey, for example, shows that women – especially non-Pākehā women – have been more severely affected by past crises and labour market shocks than men.[3]

Existing inequalities such as the gender pay gap and occupational segregation, as well as issues in non-standard work and unpaid care, mean that women are more susceptible to economic hardship and less resilient against COVID-19’s economic impacts.

New Zealand’s labour force is highly segregated by industry and gender, with women more likely to work in lower-paid jobs and part-time work (71.3 percent of part-time workers in New Zealand are women). Women make up the majority of our essential support workers – in the health sector, supermarkets, and caring roles, making them at higher risk of exposure to COVID-19. Women comprise the majority (57.6 percent) of the Retail Trade and Accommodation industry. This industry receives the lowest median earnings of any sector and has been one of the hardest-hit. Particular groups of women will feel these impacts even harder. Wāhine Māori and Pacific women, for example, are already impacted by existing inequalities, while being more likely to have additional financial and caring responsibilities for extended family members. 

The impact on unpaid work

Before COVID-19, women were doing significantly more unpaid work as men. This is likely to intensify while New Zealand is on level 4.[4] Women are more likely to provide support either informally within their whānau and friends or more formally in volunteer roles. Women undertake more unpaid labour than men, including care for children and the elderly. Childcare responsibilities will increase due to school and ECE closures, additional domestic duties will be required, and there are likely to be more caring responsibilities associated with the increased number of sick people. Women who work from home may still be expected to juggle work expectations with increased unpaid caring roles, or reduce their paid workload to account for the additional unpaid work. Structural inequalities such as the gender pay gap and occupational segregation mean it is likely to be more financially viable for women to sacrifice their incomes in order to absorb the necessary care responsibilities required by family in the coming weeks.

There is distinct gender segregation in the types of volunteering activities women and men do, with women more likely to volunteer in health, social services, and education roles and men more likely to volunteer for sports, business or professional associations, or unions.[5] The types of unpaid work outside the home that women do is likely to be important during a health response.

The impact on gender-based violence

Evidence shows that the risk of gender-based violence, such as family and sexual violence disproportionately effects women, and rises during national emergencies and disasters. This will likely be the case with the COVID-19 pandemic. When households face social, health and economic pressures, rates of gender-based violence typically increase. These factors also mean there may be increased instances of elder abuse. Home isolation means women and children are more exposed to their abusers, and are unable to escape to relatively safer spaces like school and work. Although it is too early to measurable the impact COVID-19 has had on gender-based violence in New Zealand, there are reports by non-government organisations of an increase in demand for their services and in police call outs. Increased government funding to support services (e.g. Women’s Refuge) may help manage the outcomes of this increased risk but not address the causes.

Online references