How COVID-19 Pandemic Worsens the Economic Situation of Women in South Africa

Abstract

Little is known about the general equilibrium impact COVID-19 induces on different gender groups. This paper addresses the problem of relatively few general equilibrium studies focusing on gender impacts of COVID-19. The analysis uses a gendered Computable General Equilibrium model linked to a microsimulation model that analyses a mild and severe scenario of the pandemic on economic and distributional outcomes for females. Irrespective of scenario, findings show that because women employment tend to have unskilled labour which is more concentrated in sectors that are hurt the most by COVID-19 response measures, they suffer disproportionately more from higher unemployment than their male counterparts. The poverty outcomes show worsened vulnerability for female-headed households given that, even prior to the pandemic, poverty was already higher amongst women. These simulated results are consistent with recently observed impacts and address research gaps important for well-designed public policies to reverse these trends.

Gender and Covid‐19: Are women bearing the brunt? A case study for Bolivia

“…The results at the employment level are in line with a large number of studies in developing countries that claim that the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated employment prospects, especially for women (Casale & Posel, 2021;Chitiga et al, 2020;Craig & Churchill, 2020;Kabeer et al, 2021). As explained earlier in Section 3.2, the results reveal negative impacts on overall employment, resulting in lower labour market participation rates.…”

“…In this regard, a gender focus needs to be integrated into macroeconomic studies to contribute to the development of appropriate policy responses and to help mitigate the effects of pandemics such as COVID‐19 (Smith, 2019; Wenham et al, 2020). In South Africa, Chitiga et al (2020) find that the COVID‐19 lockdown increased poverty more amongst women than men. Unfortunately, little is known apart from this study concerning the economic impacts of COVID‐19 on gender equality, although the facts suggest that the impact of the pandemic will affect women and men differently.…”

Short and Medium-term Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Work Outcomes of Men and Women: Empirical Evidence from Central Asia

“…It might be explained by relatively under-established institutions and labor markets in developing countries, where most women are occupied in the informal sector and thus have less job security and social protection (Fabrizio et al, 2020;Power, 2020). Women in developing countries are also heavily employed in the service and social sectors (Chitiga et al, 2021;Florence et al, 2019), the sectors which were hardest-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, it should be noted that betterdeveloped markets might "bounce back" better once the pandemic slows down.…”

Do COVID-19 and Food Insecurity Influence Existing Inequalities between Women and Men in Africa?

“…Chitiga et al present an interesting model that demonstrates differences in loss of income between female-headed and male-headed households (i.e., women losing more) using micromodel simulations based on gender differences in employment sectors to assess redistributive impacts of economic scenarios on poverty [ 31 ]. Their simulations indicated a higher impact on female poverty (increase by 5% from 46% to 51% in the severe scenario).…”