Young women among worst hit by coronavirus job cuts

‘Social security Institution Kela received more than 120,000 unemployment benefit applications between mid-March and the end of April, more than three times the number of applications during the same period last year. This is according to Helsinki Graduate School of Economics (GSE)'s analysis that combined Kela's application data with taxpayer's information on the applicants' professional background. According to the results, young women aged 20–24 make up the majority of Kela's unemployment benefit applicants.’

Read here (UUTISET, May 7, 2020)

‘Calamitous’: Domestic violence set to soar by 20% during global lockdown

‘At least 15m more cases of domestic violence are predicted around the world this year as a result of pandemic restrictions, according to new data that paints a bleak picture of life for women over the next decade. The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has also calculated that tens of millions of women will not be able to access modern contraceptives this year, and millions more girls will undergo female genital mutilation or be married off by 2030. Natalia Kanem, the fund’s executive director, called the findings “totally calamitous”.’

Read here (The Guardian, April 28, 2020)

Covid-19 is an opportunity for gender equality within the workplace and at home

‘Crisis can be an opportunity for gendered change: WW1 was a watershed moment for women’s emancipation with large swathes being added to the workforce, and the creation of women’s institutes, which latterly led to women’s suffrage. We hope that covid-19 can be another such movement for greater gender-equality in the workplace. To do so we need to stop apologising for personal lives, and let’s see more children on conference calls.’

Read here (BMJ Opinion, April 15, 2020)

Does COVID-19 prove women are best suited to lead in a crisis?

‘According to American professors Jacqueline and Milton Mayfield, “effective leader talk” requires “direction-giving”, “meaning-making” and “empathetic language” – capabilities that become existentially critical in a time of national distress and crisis, all of which both Johnson and Trump are lacking.’

Read here (Byline Times, April 9, 2020)

Covid-19: The gendered impacts of the outbreak

‘Experience from past outbreaks shows the importance of incorporating a gender analysis into preparedness and response efforts to improve the effectiveness of health interventions and promote gender and health equity goals. During the 2014–16 west African outbreak of Ebola virus disease, gendered norms meant that women were more likely to be infected by the virus, given their predominant roles as caregivers within families and as front-line health-care workers...’

Read here (The Lancet, March 6, 2020)