Female labour force greatly hit by COVID-19

According to a research by Citigroup, 31 million women around the world could lose their jobs due to the COVID- 19 pandemic. This number, as per the research is more than double the 13 million for men. This loss of women from the workforce will slash the global gross product (GDP) by 1tn

“The loss of women in the workforce isn’t just a matter of inequality, it equates to real global GDP losses,” wrote Dana Peterson, global economist at Citigroup.

The report by US bank Citigroup has blamed this loss on the fact that women are more likely to work in fields that are affected most by the pandemic. Preliminary data in the US is said to reflect the above mentioned trend. This is because, of the 21.3 million jobs that were lost in March and April this year, 11.7 million positions were held by women.

A report by Citi on the impact of Covid to working females 

The report, which is part of the “Women in the Economy” series focuses on the impact of the pandemic on the female labor force. It specifically states that a total of 220 million women around the world are in sectors that are vulnerable to loss of jobs due to the pandemic. However, the report warns that the actual numbers could rise because it omits China in its study.

In the report, financial services sectors and government jobs, professional services industry and business are likely to relieve the greatest number of women from their payrolls.

For these women, returning to work or seeking employment will be hindered with factors such as caring for family members who have been stricken with Covid- 19 and also taking care of roughly 1.5 billion children who are at home, due to closure of schools

To mitigate the problem, the report recommends employers to offer paid leave and flexible working arrangements to suit women.