COVID-19 restrictions have been reported to have had more impact on women than men (except in the case of mortality from COVID-19), especially in relation to time spent on childcare while maintaining housework and working from home responsibilities, job loss, domestic violence and superannuation.
Women have been found to withdraw a higher proportion of superannuation savings compared to men; resulting in an increasing gendered superannuation gap. There is an increase in severity, frequency and variety of violence against women during COVID-19. Also, women are experiencing more reduction in working hours as well as greater vulnerability to job loss in STEM due to COVID-19.
There are steps that can be implemented to reduce the negative gendered impacts in organisations and in domestic environments. A critical initiative is to give voice to victims of domestic violence (DMV). Encouraging reporting on DMV by promoting confidence in authorities to implement corrective measures is a necessary step to provide much required professional support. Public communications to reduce negative stigma attached to DMV reporting should facilitate greater confidence to reach out to authorities.
Understanding of changing demand and adoption of new skills and business models by women would greatly facilitate improved female presence in the workforce. Utilisation of government resources to undertake required enhancement of skills by women is necessary.
Collective action to demand better, safer work conditions by women for female-dominated sectors including cleaning, teaching, child care, and aged care industries should help to highlight potential negative impacts and risks which women face.
Utilisation of financial advice by women to access tips for better financial management would help tackle financial resources management issues currently faced. Provision of government and employer driven, women focused, free financial advisory services would benefit women with financial resources management.
Government and Employer initiatives to “help” women with child care and home duties and responsibilities to allow women to focus on their jobs, businesses and careers should help with female employee retention and with career progression in-spite of exacerbating circumstances.
Sustained bias training for management is necessary as biased actions in work places are apparently becoming more pronounced in the current environment.
More flexibility and human-like understandings by organisations and management, in place of the extremely rigid, masculine performance measurement and indicators are also required in the current environment.
Development and implementation of women-focused, specific initiatives like the ones noted above, are even more important in the current environment than before, to prevent widening gender gaps.
Dr Tehmina Kahn is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Accounting, Info Systems and Supply Chain.
