Women’s Equality Day: A Reflection on Progress

Kirsty Martin, Consultant

Protiviti Australia

To me, Women’s Equality Day is an opportunity to reflect on the progress that has been made towards gender equality and to celebrate those successes, but also to identify what still needs to be done and refresh our passion for these issues. This year I have been reflecting on the COVID-19 crisis and the gendered nature of its impacts. Although the virus tragically appears to have a higher death rate among men, our collective response to minimise the harm of the virus has unequally burdened women and exacerbated a number of existing gendered issues around insecure work as well as how we as a society value and distribute the labour of ‘care’.

A variety of factors compound to increase the impact of the crisis for women. Firstly, women comprise most of the health and social care workers (approx. 79% in Australia) who are on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19 and as such, are at greater risk of contracting the virus. The workloads for these roles, as well as educational roles (of which women also comprise the majority) have become increasingly demanding and complex in response to the virus, whilst pay remains relatively low. While teachers are working overtime to develop new lesson plans and help students adapt to online learning, mass school closures have particularly affected women at home. Women still bear much of the responsibility for childcare and are more likely to have moved to reduced hours or remote work to care for their children who are learning remotely. Interestingly, even in families with both parents now working from home, women have still tended to have primary responsibility for supporting the children with their home learning.

On the subject of unequal burden of care work, women also already do three-times as much unpaid care work than men – and caring for vulnerable relatives who either contract the virus, or who are forced into an increased level of isolation for their own safety, is adding to this burden of care. As well as this, women are overrepresented in casual and insecure work in roles that are both more likely to have been lost or reduced as a result of health restrictions (retail, food service, hospitality), and less likely to have access to sick leave if they contract the virus or are required to self-isolate. Women in Australia already retire with a fifth less super than men, and with women more likely to have reduced their hours or lost jobs altogether during this crisis, this existing gendered superannuation gap is likely to increase. Due to the employment impacts of COVID-19, many women have withdrawn significant amounts from their super under the government’s early access to super scheme, even further reducing their likely retirement income. And finally, there has been an increase in the prevalence and severity of domestic violence (of which women represent most victims) since the pandemic began.

The clash of Women’s Equality Day with the COVID-19 crisis provides a timely reminder of the need to acknowledge the inequalities that still exist, particularly around the gender care gap. Although the pandemic has further compounded these issues, they existed pre-pandemic and will continue to exist post-pandemic unless we actively work for change. From men taking on an equal share of unpaid care work, to better funding childcare services, or improving pay and conditions in health, education, social care etc., there are many practical steps that we can take. If we are to continue to work towards gender equality, we must better recognise, value, and share the labour of care.

The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author.