Covid-19 Pandemic, Natural Disasters Are 'Gender-Biased' Against Women Shows Oxfam Study

Whether it is a pandemic or natural calamity, the worst affected are always women, children, and minorities. The recent statistical data from Oxfam’s India Discrimination Report 2022 further proves it.

When any catastrophe takes place, everyone is hit simultaneously. However, the aftermath effects prolong for women, putting them in danger, out of jobs, and dealing with other grave issues.

Pandemic Affected 70% Of Self-Employed Women Compared To Only 9% Men

The report showcases that both men and women had to face unemployment in all sectors. While the rate at which women lost jobs in rural areas was comparatively lower than what the section experienced in the urban sector.

The report states, “Many women provided daily support services at a relatively low cost which the upper and middle class found convenient to maintain with either a full or partial payment.”

During the period of high unemployment, women workers (urban and rural) are at a disadvantage because many of them have had no source of income, even when there was no pandemic.

This disadvantage is only for 9% of men while it affects as many as 70% of women. The figure is also the result of the nature of employment and undefined conditions in many sectors that hire the most women in the country.

We do not get to see the same difference in sectors that offer regular employment and fixed salaries. In rural areas, people who did not receive a salary for their work included only 24% of the male population compared to 14% of females. This gap was shorter in the urban areas.

Lockdown during the pandemic also resulted in barriers for women against mobility, which caused them higher employment losses than men. The study further said, “Gender discrimination in India is structural, which manifests in the higher ratio of earnings of men to that of women under normal circumstances.”

Don't Miss: Pakistan Floods Have Left Women Fearing For Life

Pandemic & Natural Calamities Have A Gender-Biased Impact

In 2021, the World Bank Organisation published a study stating that natural hazards such as floods, droughts, and earthquakes are gender neutral, but their impact is definitely biased. It affects girls and boys of the same household quite differently.

According to the report, gender bias exists because of the roles society expects men and women to perform. Level of agency, socioeconomic status, and how men and women are prepared to react, get impacted, and recover from a calamity also tilt the gender-bias curve.

Whether it’s floods in Assam or in Pakistan, we have reports saying that women suffer more. In Pakistan, women have reported struggling to find hygienic toilets and period products. They relieve themselves in bushes far away from tent colonies and use rags or dupattas during menstruation.

"The condition is getting worse - sitting with children, having no access to washroom and kitchen." - Mohammad Saddam with his family on the roadside in KP.

🔴Donate now to help us distribute life-saving food to families affected by the flooding.
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— WFP Pakistan (@WFPPakistan) September 5, 2022

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March 2022 Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) published a report stating women healthcare workers suffered the most during Covid-19. They worked for long hours and struggled with insomnia, depression, anxiety and burnout. It also pointed out that the domestic violence hotlines saw the number of calls shot up by 40%.

In fact, the United Nations’ Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction 2022 spoke about the relationship between the number of people affected by disaster and female victims of intentional homicide. It concluded by saying, “Women are one of the most vulnerable sections of the population.”

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