Martha Storey: The Great Unequaliser: Women and COVID-19

The great unequaliser: women in the time of Covid-19 Martha Storey, Maths and Philosophy at University College

As the pandemic rages on, it becomes clearer than ever that Covid-19 is anything but an equaliser. This term, OULC held a panel about how women have been adversely affected, looking at the economic, social, and domestic implications for women. The club invited speakers who have been working to improve the lives of women in different ways. The panel made it clear that their work is not sufficient; women need more robust support in the form of legislation if we are to emerge from the pandemic with the same opportunities that we previously enjoyed. The furlough scheme has been lauded as a success for the government, and has undoubtedly been a lifeline for many. However it is not without its limitations, especially regarding gender equality. In every region except the West Midlands, women were more likely to be furloughed than men, and this trend was more pronounced for younger age groups. Mothers were 14% more likely to be furloughed, a statistic that fits the trend of employers treating mothers and pregnant women differently to their co-workers. It is unfortunately unsurprising that, in a time of hefty job losses and economic uncertainty, women are often the first to lose their jobs or be furloughed. Mckinsey calculated that women’s jobs are 1.8 times more vulnerable than men’s; for working mothers, this statistic is likely to be much higher. It is important that, going forward, work- ing mothers, expecting or exist- ent, are protected from job losses and furlough. Without explicit pro - tection, women’s jobs will always be in the most danger. One of our panellists, Joeli Brearley, founded charity Pregnant T h e n Screwed, which aims to combat discrimination against mothers and pregnant women in the workplace and beyond. Joeli told the club about how, four days after she informed her employer she was pregnant, she was sacked from her job. This led her to start Pregnant Then Screwed, which provides legal support for mothers, trains employers to treat working parents better, and proposes legislative change to improve the lives of mothers and pregnant women. In July, the charity conducted a landmark study of working mothers which displayed the importance of childcare for working women. 46% of mothers made redundant in the pandemic say the lack of childcare provision was a factor, and 51% lack the necessary childcare to enable them to work. Given that the high infection rate within schools has led to many children having to isolate frequently, this is not a problem that has disappeared since September. Women’s job security was also threatened by the move to working from home earlier this year. The unequal distribution of unpaid work in the home is well-documented, and lockdown only heightened this phenomenon, with less time in the physical workplace allowing for less time to escape the domestic burden women may face. The Institute for Fiscal Studies found that on average women were spending more time doing housework and childcare, and less time working. The same study found that women had a significantly higher proportion (57%) of their working day interrupted during lockdown than men. In - terruptions in the working day are more than an inconvenience. They mean women are less focused, and able to work less productively. In a time when many companies

are struggling financially, this productivity gap could make the difference between retaining a job and being made redundant. When our panel was asked how things were different between the first and second lockdown, the resounding answer was that kids were back at school. The lack of childcare provision is especially concerning for working class mothers, many of whom are key workers. They are less likely to be able to work from home, so are unavailable during the day to look after kids who would otherwise have been at school. Mary Ann Stephenson, director of the Women’s Budget Group was another of our panellists; the group’s research shows that childcare costs between a fifth and a quarter of women’s salaries. For key workers, many of whom are in low-paying jobs, this cost is significant. And things are only set to get more difficult, with low demand and lack of government support threatening one in six childcare providers. Going forward, childcare will be harder to get, and likely more expensive. The Women’s Budget Group made a substantial submission to the Labour Party’s National Policy Forum, which set out policies that would redistribute the burden that women have faced this year - a vital step to avoid reverting back to traditional gender roles. Included was universal free childcare to avoid a ‘two-tier’return to work (where women are restricted by lack of childcare provision, so cannot return to work on equal footing with men). It is vital that Labour are committed to improving the working lives of women as we begin on the long path out of the pandemic, and we should take these recommendations seriously if we are to do so. The impacts of lockdown on women were by no means restricted to the workplace. Our third panellist, Kingston-upon-Hull MP Diana Johnson, has been vocal about tackling domestic abuse for some time, but her contributions are particularly important since lockdown. Help is inevitably harder to come by, and many have been left alone with their abusers. On a single day in lockdown, the charity Refuge saw a 700% increase in calls. The Domestic Abuse bill is set to become law in 2021, however this sadly comes too late for many women who have had to struggle through lockdown. Since the panel, feminist writer and campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez made headlines, when she opened up about dealing with a miscarriage during the pandemic. At the start of the Covid-19 crisis, NHS trusts and hospitals began preventing partners from attending scans and appointments. Pregnancy is often tiring and traumatising - given that one in four UK pregnancies end in miscarriage, this measure seems cruel to say the least. Despite the easing of restrictions throughout the year, many NHS trusts have not eased these restrictions - clearly, pregnant voices are not being heard in the pandemic. One area where Coronavirus has led to a positive change in legislation is abortion. In one of the earlier U-turns of this year, the government relaxed rules for abortion, allowing home abortions where no doctors are present after Boris Johnson initially barred this move. The previous law was a remnant of a time when most abortions were surgical proceedures, and following the relaxed lockdown rule, Covid Minister James Bethness said that consultations are planned on making home use of abortive pills permanent for early abortions. Labour must hold the government to this promise, and ensure that progress made in the face of Covid does not dissipate as we move out of the crisis. Throughout the pandemic there has been a clear lack of gender sensitive policies. Much Covid policy has failed to consider the impact of women and minorities, which has led to gaps in the earnings, unpaid work, and security of many women throughout the pandemic. To ensure that women do not continue to lose out due to the pandemic, Labour must be proactive, campaigning for better treatment across health services and workplaces.