Pandemic halts trends to more women joining workforce

Overall, female workers in the EU were disproportionally affected by the first months of the pandemic compared with men

The pandemic has stalled the trend of rising female labour participation, although the impact in Europe is much smaller than it has been in the United States. Picture: iStock

The trend of more women joining the workforce across advanced economies has stalled due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A new research report from Moody's found that despite the strong gains in female participation over the past two decades, significant differences remain, with the employment rate of women aged between 20 and 64 averaging 67.3% across the European Union in 2019, well below the 79% rate for men.