Social Europe

  • EU Forward Project
  • YouTube
  • Podcast
  • Books
  • Newsletter
  • Membership

The Covid-19 crisis is exacerbating gender inequalities—but who cares?

Marja Bijl 5th May 2020

The gender dimension of the coronavirus crisis is obvious when seen through a lens of gender inequality. Which leaves it invisible to many.

Marja Bijl 250x250 1
Marja Bijl

It is nearly two months since the coronavirus pandemic hit Europe at its foundations and shook the globe. The pandemic affects all our lives. We are staying at home—if possible—working from home, home-schooling our children and keeping in touch with our loved ones by phone or video-messaging. And of course, we are scared. These are devastating times.

We have read thousands of articles and news updates—emergency plans have been adopted, financial aid allocated and researchers consulted. This is vital and important: saving lives must remain the priority, without any doubt. But are there only male experts and virologists? Why are right-wing populist leaders, such as Donald Trump, Jair Bolsonaro and Viktor Orbán, not only denying the science and the gravity of the pandemic but also clinging to toxic forms of masculinity—and going unchallenged in doing so?

The pandemic shows us again who owns power in the world. Men believe they have the solutions, while women make up the majority of those working in essential professions. Does anyone really care about how this crisis is affecting women?

Not enough

Female leaders such as Jacinda Ardern have acted early and decisively but there are not enough of them. In January 2020, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, only 10 of 152 elected heads of state were women, while 73 per cent of those working in the news media were men. As the executive director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, says, ‘We have created a world where women are squeezed into just 25 per cent—one quarter—of space, both in physical decision-making rooms, and in the stories that we tell about our lives.’ The example female leaders are setting in successfully controlling the pandemic should show us that gender equality is critical to global public health and international security.

At the same time, 70 per cent of the global health and social workforce—doctors, nurses and care workers—are women. Cashiers and cleaners are largely female as well. They are not only often working in precarious conditions with only minimum wages, but they also do not have the necessary platforms to raise their voices and articulate their concerns, even though they are at a higher risk of being exposed to the virus.

My heart aches every day, listening to women who work at the front line. I took up—for the time being—my old job as a psychological care provider to give assistance to those who need to talk about their experiences—care workers who have dealt with coronavirus patients. They are my heroes, 99 per cent of them women. And besides what they have to deal with at work, they look after their families, do the shopping and home-school their children. They have a triple burden.



Don't miss out on cutting-edge thinking.


Join tens of thousands of informed readers and stay ahead with our insightful content. It's free.



Worryingly high

As we have witnessed many times before, in times of crisis women are among the most vulnerable yet remain invisible. Gender-based violence was worryingly high before the outbreak but it has increased significantly since women have been trapped at home with their abusers due to exhaustive lockdowns. Access to sexual and reproductive health and rights is limited or under attack in many parts of the world and has become even more restricted. Extreme-right governments are even misusing their emergency powers to further attempt to ban access to contraception and abortion.

In normal times, women do on average three times as much unpaid care and domestic work as men. As a result of the current crisis and measures, unpaid work for women has increased, as has the pressure on them and the insecurity they experience. This is causing additional mental and physical strain, in particular for single parents, 85 per cent of whom are women. Women were economically disadvantaged before the crisis, they are risking poverty, unemployment, social exclusion and homelessness now and, as history shows, they will be heavily affected into the long term.

In a nutshell, Covid-19 exposes and reinforces existing gender inequalities. The consequences are devastating, especially for the most deprived: older women, women from ethnic minorities and women of colour, women with disabilities or mental illnesses, migrant and refugee women, those at risk of poverty. It is not just a problem of patriarchy but also of white privilege.

Absolutely vital

While more men are dying of the virus, women are nevertheless among the most affected if we consider the broad socio-economic impacts of the pandemic. At the same time, women are also absolutely vital to the recovery. Rebuilding a sustainable, just and equal society will only be possible if the role of women in this fight and in general, beyond this crisis, is properly recognised and the disproportionate burden they are carrying is redistributed accordingly.

But, as long as capital is valued more than people, we cannot lay the foundation for a sustainable and inclusive recovery. There is a real opportunity for radical economic change: returning to the status quo must not be the response to this crisis or the vision for our long-term future in Europe. It is a unique chance and our common duty as a global community to seize the moment and to use this far-reaching event, finally to shift towards a more equal and just society which leaves no one behind. But this  opportunity is being sidelined—just as women are.

We are raising the bar with this pandemic. What European and global women’s movements have been saying and shouting about on the streets for decades is not only demonstrably true and essential but now even more important.

We need increased investment in gender-sensitive public services, as well as legislation and prevention mechanisms against gender-based violence. We need to guarantee sexual and reproductive rights as a fundamental human and public health right. We must also ensure better social safety nets for families, increased wages in the care sector, recognition of unpaid care work, more women in decision-making, gender-sensitive education, sex-disaggregated data collection, as well as gender-mainstreaming of budgeting and overall policy-making—to name just a few things.

Rights essential

It is high time for world leaders to care for women as much as women care for our societies. It is time to make women visible, make their voices count and speak up for those who cannot. The UN secretary-general, António Guterres, is setting a good example, using his position to urge that women and girls be placed at the centre of efforts to recover from Covid-19. Unfortunately, he is among only a small number who realise that gender equality and women’s rights are essential to getting through this pandemic.

Already, Covid-19 is establishing a new normal. It is testing the values we want to live up to and the kind of societies we want to build. And solutions to the pandemic must be framed in the context of global justice, human rights and equality. But who would listen to me?—I am a woman. Who cares?

Marja Bijl

Marja Bijl is vice-president of PES Women, coming from the Dutch PvdA, and co-ordinator of the working group on gender in the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats.

Harvard University Press Advertisement

Social Europe Ad - Promoting European social policies

We need your help.

Support Social Europe for less than €5 per month and help keep our content freely accessible to everyone. Your support empowers independent publishing and drives the conversations that matter. Thank you very much!

Social Europe Membership

Click here to become a member

Most Recent Articles

u4219834675 4ff1 998a 404323c89144 1 Why Progressive Governments Keep Failing — And How to Finally Win Back VotersMariana Mazzucato
u42198346ec 111f 473a 80ad b5d0688fffe9 1 A Transatlantic Reckoning: Why Europe Needs a New Pact Beyond Defence SpendingChristophe Sente
u4219834671f 3 Trade Unions Resist EU Bid to Weaken Corporate Sustainability LawsSocial Europe
u421983467 9c73 b24a0b674750 1 The West’s Defence Now Depends on Trump’s Mood SwingsStefan Stern
u4219834674735ecb6fd43 0 The Dark Side Of The Boom In Last-Mile LogisticsSilvia Borelli

Most Popular Articles

u4219834647f 0894ae7ca865 3 Europe’s Businesses Face a Quiet Takeover as US Investors CapitaliseTej Gonza and Timothée Duverger
u4219834674930082ba55 0 Portugal’s Political Earthquake: Centrist Grip Crumbles, Right AscendsEmanuel Ferreira
u421983467e58be8 81f2 4326 80f2 d452cfe9031e 1 “The Universities Are the Enemy”: Why Europe Must Act NowBartosz Rydliński
u42198346761805ea24 2 Trump’s ‘Golden Era’ Fades as European Allies Face Harsh New RealityFerenc Németh and Peter Kreko
startupsgovernment e1744799195663 Governments Are Not StartupsMariana Mazzucato
u421986cbef 2549 4e0c b6c4 b5bb01362b52 0 American SuicideJoschka Fischer
u42198346769d6584 1580 41fe 8c7d 3b9398aa5ec5 1 Why Trump Keeps Winning: The Truth No One AdmitsBo Rothstein
u421983467 a350a084 b098 4970 9834 739dc11b73a5 1 America Is About to Become the Next BrexitJ Bradford DeLong
u4219834676ba1b3a2 b4e1 4c79 960b 6770c60533fa 1 The End of the ‘West’ and Europe’s FutureGuillaume Duval
u421983462e c2ec 4dd2 90a4 b9cfb6856465 1 The Transatlantic Alliance Is Dying—What Comes Next for Europe?Frank Hoffer

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI Report

WSI Minimum Wage Report 2025

The trend towards significant nominal minimum wage increases is continuing this year. In view of falling inflation rates, this translates into a sizeable increase in purchasing power for minimum wage earners in most European countries. The background to this is the implementation of the European Minimum Wage Directive, which has led to a reorientation of minimum wage policy in many countries and is thus boosting the dynamics of minimum wages. Most EU countries are now following the reference values for adequate minimum wages enshrined in the directive, which are 60% of the median wage or 50 % of the average wage. However, for Germany, a structural increase is still necessary to make progress towards an adequate minimum wage.

DOWNLOAD HERE

S&D Group in the European Parliament advertisement

Cohesion Policy

S&D Position Paper on Cohesion Policy post-2027: a resilient future for European territorial equity

Cohesion Policy aims to promote harmonious development and reduce economic, social and territorial disparities between the regions of the Union, and the backwardness of the least favoured regions with a particular focus on rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition and regions suffering from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, such as outermost regions, regions with very low population density, islands, cross-border and mountain regions.

READ THE FULL POSITION PAPER HERE

ETUI advertisement

HESA Magazine Cover

With a comprehensive set of relevant indicators, presented in 85 graphs and tables, the 2025 Benchmarking Working Europe report examines how EU policies can reconcile economic, social and environmental goals to ensure long-term competitiveness. Considered a key reference, this publication is an invaluable resource for supporting European social dialogue.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Eurofound advertisement

Ageing workforce
The evolution of working conditions in Europe

This episode of Eurofound Talks examines the evolving landscape of European working conditions, situated at the nexus of profound technological transformation.

Mary McCaughey speaks with Barbara Gerstenberger, Eurofound's Head of Unit for Working Life, who leverages insights from the 35-year history of the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS).

Listen to the episode for free. Also make sure to subscribe to Eurofound Talks so you don’t miss an episode!

LISTEN NOW

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

Spring Issues

The Summer issue of The Progressive Post is out!


It is time to take action and to forge a path towards a Socialist renewal.


European Socialists struggle to balance their responsibilities with the need to take bold positions and actions in the face of many major crises, while far-right political parties are increasingly gaining ground. Against this background, we offer European progressive forces food for thought on projecting themselves into the future.


Among this issue’s highlights, we discuss the transformative power of European Social Democracy, examine the far right’s efforts to redesign education systems to serve its own political agenda and highlight the growing threat of anti-gender movements to LGBTIQ+ rights – among other pressing topics.

READ THE MAGAZINE

Social Europe

Our Mission

Team

Article Submission

Advertisements

Membership

Social Europe Archives

Themes Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

Miscellaneous

RSS Feed

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641

BlueskyXWhatsApp