This is week five of our weekly newsletter covering the latest on gender, the economy and Covid-19. As public discussion of the crisis has began shifting towards exit strategies, the analysis and recommendations from experts have as well.
The Women's Budget Group has published a briefing on what challenges may be faced by different groups of women as we enter this 'second stage' of the crisis. Read more here.
Earlier this week the Women's Budget Group published our latest report: 'Migrant Women and the Economy'. The Covid-19 crisis has further exacerbated an already existing crisis--the impact of the UK immigration system on migrant women. Read the report here.
We have submitted a response to Women and Equalities Select Committee on the impact of Covid-19 on individuals with protected characteristics as outlined by the Equalities Act of 2010. Read more here.
Continue reading for the latest news on the economic and gendered impacts of the pandemic in the UK and beyond. Scroll until the very end to catch upcoming events on gender, the economy, and Covid-19.
Please do follow up on Twitter and Facebook to stay updated.
Many migrant women, providing lifesaving care and vital services in the Covid-19 outbreak, risk being left without support by UK immigration rules according to a new report published today by the Women’s Budget Group and Coventry Women’s Partnership.
The report, Migrant Women and the Economy, highlights that migrant women are disproportionately represented in ‘key worker’ occupations, working in roles that put their own lives at risk to deliver crucial care. At the same time immigration and social security policies aimed at creating a ‘hostile environment’ mean migrants can be left with no rights to social security or vital services if they are unable to work because of Covid-19. Read more here.
As Government attention turns to the possibility of easing the lockdown, this briefing sets out some of the challenges this will throw up for different groups of women as we enter the ‘second stage’ of Covid-19 response.
There is a high risk of increases to the gender pay gap, women’s poverty, homelessness and food insecurity.
Find everything the Women's Budget Group has done on Covid-19 here. This includes our reports on the impact Covid-19 has on Social Security and Social Care, as well as joint letters, policy responses, and more. Find it all here.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has released a report on what the government can do now to mitigate the long-term impact of the recession that has been caused by this pandemic. They stress the importance of guidance, innovation, and data-driven policies. Read more here.
Despite the government's messages that now is not the time to discuss inequality, Helen Lewis argues in The Atlantic that now more than ever it is crucial to be critical. As policies implemented now will dictate the economy of the next decade, we should be suspicious of any attempts to dismiss legitimate questions. Read the rest here.
The Women's Budget Group has written a blog on how Covid-19 has further exacerbated the 'hostile environment' created by the UK immigration and social security systems. This crisis also brings into stark relief the crucial, and undervalued, role migrant women play in our care sectors. Read the post here.
The Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre has released data updated until 1st May on patients critically ill with Covid-19. Find the latest numbers here.
This new Trades Union Congress report outlines a scheme on how to avoid high unemployment in the second phase of the Covid-19 response. Although it does not apply a gendered lens, past WBG analysis has outlined the disparate impact high unemployment would have on women. Read the TUC report here.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has released a briefing on changes to childrens' and parents' daily lives since the beginning of the lockdown. Key findings include that in addition to not spending 30 hours a week in school, children are also not spending the average 22 hours per week in after school activities, which have both vastly increased childcare responsibilities of parents. Read the briefing here.
This article in the BBC highlights one of the ways Covid-19 response policies have failed to address the disparate impact on mothers. Reporter Esyllt Carr tells the story of a young mother who will lose out on money from the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme because the monthly aid that averages past income fails to account for time spent on maternity leave. Continue reading here.
A blog posted in the Institute for Development Studies Alumni Network outlined how to bring a gendered perspective to analysing pandemics. Students, Isabelle Tickel, Madhurima Sanyal & Rebeca Moreno Sandoval discuss the need for gender disaggregated data and outline some of the main disparate impacts on women. Read the post here.
New data released by the Office of National Statistics provides provisional counts of deaths and mortality rates disseminated by age, sex, socioeconomic deprivation, and geographies down to local authority. Read more here.
According to a new report released by the Standard Life Foundation, 28% of UK households are experiencing financial difficulty. Families with dependent children, especially single-parents, were more likely to be in financial difficulties. According to previous WBG reporting, in 86% of single-parent households, the single-parent is the mother. Read the Standard Life report here.
The Government Equalities Office has put together an 'Observatory' with all of the known research projects on equalities and Covid-19 in UK universities, businesses, third sector, and some international projects as well. Find them here.
Covid-19: A Global Pandemic
Female academics seem to be submitting fewer papers during coronavirus
Early journal submission data suggests that Covid-19 has inhibited women's research activity while it has progressed men's. An article from Inside Higher Ed describes the observation of a number of academic journals as well as past studies that corroborate the unique struggles faced by female academics. Read more here.
An article in The Lily reports the same, with input from female academics sharing their experience. Find the article here.
Calls for Papers on Gender and Covid-19
Feminist Studies Journal. Submit by July 15, 2020. Find out more here.
International Association of Feminist Economics. Submit by May 31, 2020. Find out more here.
Devex and Facebook are launching a series of ten virtual workshops to create a better understanding of the gender-related issues highlighted by the current pandemic and to share important lessons learned about how data can help inform better responses to the current and future pandemics. Register here.
The Women’s Budget Group scrutinises government policy from a gender perspective. We are a network of leading feminist economists, researchers, policy experts and campaigners committed to achieving a more gender equal future. We have worked towards this since 1989.
