COVID-19 & Women’s Well-Being

Mar 8

International Women’s Day 2021

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is #ChooseToChallenge. I wanted to highlight how COVID-19 has impacted women’s well-being. While there’s no doubt that men are struggling too, research suggests that women have been hit hard by the economic, social, and emotional challenges of the pandemic.

Economic Stress

Women accounted for 63% of all jobs lost in Canada in March 2020, despite making up less than half the workforce. Among those people who kept their jobs, women had their hours reduced more than men (5.3 hours versus 3.9 hours). Women were also more likely to work in high-risk professions during COVID-19, such as health care, food service, retail, and cleaning roles.

Increased Unpaid Work

At home, women already tend to do a larger share of household work and childcare than their male partners. This share only increased during COVID-19, with many children staying home due to school and daycare closures. The issue of unpaid work had the greatest impact on women living in poverty and women from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds. Black and Indigenous Canadians, as well as newcomers to Canada, reported the largest increases in their household duties during the pandemic. In one study, three times as many Indigenous participants reported that they had to stop looking for paid work due to increased demands at home than White participants (Oxfam Canada).

Increased Risk of Gender-Based Violence

COVID-19 has also put some women and children at greater risk of gender-based violence, while reducing the supports available to them. Many of the factors that contribute to intimate partner violence have been made worse by the pandemic, including financial stress, job loss, increased alcohol use, and isolation.

Impacts on Women’s Mental Health

All these stressors have taken a toll on women’s mental health around the world. CARE surveyed over 10,000 people from 30 countries. Twenty-seven percent of women reported that their mental health has been significantly impacted by COVID-19. That’s almost 3x higher than the number of men (10%) who reported similar concerns. Women described struggling with anxiety, worries about the future, sleep problems, loss of appetite, and difficulties doing daily tasks.

In several Canadian studies, women likewise reported greater decreases in their mental health and higher levels of anxiety and loneliness than men (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health; Mental Health Research Canada; Statistics Canada).

The COVID-19 pandemic is casting new light on long-running gender inequalities. And these impacts are greater for women who are already experiencing the impacts of poverty and systemic racism. As we celebrate International Women’s Day, it’s important that we discuss and challenge these ongoing issues.

Visit the International Women’s Day website to learn more about this year’s campaign.