Pandemic has hit women's work status hardest

Dáil debate In advance of International Women's Day hears women are more likely to have lost jobs or had working hours reduced as a result of Covid-19

Junior minister Anne Rabbitte said in the Dáil that we are "only codding ourselves" if we think we have achieved equality in this country. File photo

Women are more likely to have reduced working hours, suffer job losses, or leave the labour market as a result of Covid-19, the Dáil has heard.

A debate on the impact of the pandemic on women heard of a worrying increase in domestic violence, a jump in referrals of those with eating disorders, and a rise in mental health issues.

Junior minister Anne Rabbitte said we are "only codding ourselves" if we think we have achieved equality in this country, and pointed to the marked under-representation of women in politics.

Children's minister Roderic O'Gorman said there is now evidence that women’s participation in the labour market is being impacted to a greater degree by the pandemic than men’s.

Long-term implications  

"Women are overrepresented in the sectors which have been badly affected in the pandemic," he said, adding that they are more likely to lose their jobs or have hours cut.

"This may be a temporary pattern, but recovery of the female labour market after earlier periods of lockdown has been slower than that of men," he said.

If this pattern persists, it could have long-term implications for the female employment rate, for women’s progression and pay in general, and for the gender pay gap. 

Cork South-West Social Democrats TD Holly Cairns pointed to a 35% increase in calls to the West Cork Women Against Violence Project helpline since Covid. She warned that domestic violence has now become "the shadow pandemic".

Solidarity-PBP TD Bríd Smith said more is spent by the State each year on the horse racing industry than on supports for those impacted by domestic violence.

Sinn Féin's Kathleen Funchion said gender equality has "taken a big step back" during the Covid-19 pandemic and has resulted in "a deepening of pre-existing inequalities". However, noting that the Dáil debate was the last item of the week, she said gender discussions should not happen simply to "tick a box".