7.2. COVID-19 and Impacts on Women’s Economic Empowerment

in response to the use of COVID-19 contact-tracing apps, concerns regarding the potential for violations of the right to privacy have been raised in some countries, such as Morocco and Tunisia.28 Many countries have also closed their borders and Uganda has suspended refugee reception services.29

The lockdown has had multiple consequences for women, primarily economic. A multitude of factors influence the precarious situation of women. Women are employed in jobs that are low paid and with fewer protections, which puts them at a greater risk of both exposure to COVID-19 and the economic risk of losing their job.30 Worldwide, 70% of health care workers and 85% of nurses are women (in Egypt women make up 90% of nurses who work in public health care facilities)31 – yet women infrequently participate in more local decision-making processes in the health care sector,32 even though, out of the 55 AU Member States, about a third (18 countries) have a woman heading the Ministry of Health.33

Women also disproportionately hold jobs outside of the health care sectors that make them part of the essential workforce, such as in market work, which continuously leaves them exposed to other people. Women also often work in informal trade, their share ranging from 70% to 80% in some countries.34 Most employment in Africa is informal (67.3% in North Africa and 89.2% in sub-Saharan Africa).35 In 2018, 89.7% of employed women in Africa worked in the informal sector compared with 82.7% of men.36 As a consequence, women do not benefit from sick leave, health insurance or any other job securities.37 In South Africa, for instance, domestic workers officially benefit from certain protections, such as the Unemployment Insurance Act, and have six weeks of paid sick leave in a three-year period.38 However, many of these workers are not formally registered with the government and therefore do not benefit from this coverage.39

Women often head micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which usually do not have big cash reserves and are at an elevated risk of closing permanently.40 Furthermore, the economic policies and relief packages of governments that aim to quell the negative consequences of COVID-19 do not generally address its gendered impact.41 It has already been reported that most Tunisian women-led MSMEs have closed as a result of the pandemic.42 This is reflected across the continent: a survey of over 1,300 women-led MSMEs across 30 African countries demonstrates that most businesses are at risk of permanently closing down.43

As workers in the sectors of hospitality, tourism or retail trade, women are also affected heavily by the border closures and lockdowns.44 Economic losses have occurred as a result of unsold and spoilt goods and failure of customers to pay for orders.45 According to estimates, COVID-19 restrictions have led to a decline of 50–60% in cross-border trade, which is conducted primarily by female traders in the East African Community.46 In Zimbabwe, cross-border traders face a twofold predicament: they do not qualify for COVID-19 stimulus packages as they do not pay taxes directly to the government;47 and they cannot earn a living owing to the border closures or push for their interests through an association, as no such interest group exists.48

Sex workers also risk exposure as they are often systematically excluded from social security benefits and have to keep working to survive.49 Aside from the virus, sex workers risk police brutality, exploitation or arrest.50

Women have more limited access to finance. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, only 38% of women compared with 57% of men have bank accounts.51 Women’s unpaid role as primary caretaker at home takes away from their time spent on gainful employment. In fact, the female-to-male ratio of unpaid work is almost 7:1 in North Africa and 4:1 in sub-Saharan Africa.52 Women are thus at a higher risk of descending into poverty. This is especially true for older women. In the MENA region, for instance, fewer women have a pension than their male counterparts (27% to 47%).53

This economic gendered impact of infectious diseases is not new and was already recorded during the 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak in the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.54