COVID-19 AND GENDER EQUALITYA CALL TO ACTION FOR THE PRIVATE SECTORAPRIL 2020

THE SITUATIONThe COVID-19 pandemic is putting an unprecedented and significant strain on the global
economy and public health systems. It is also
highlighting and magnifying inequalities andthe multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination faced by women and girls. The pandemic is moving beyond a global health crisis andmorphing into a labour market, social and economic crisis, posing a serious threat to women’s employment and livelihoods, especially inprecarious informal and non-essential sectors.
Many companies have risen to the challenge
and are using their resources to provide information, supplies, equipment and personnel inthe fight against COVID-19. They have also offered flexible working arrangements, paid medical and sick leave, ensured income protection
and provided emergency childcare for frontline
workers.1 Some CEOs and executives have eventaken pay cuts so that their employees still havean income during this uncertain time. These policies are not only serving their employees but
are helping to reduce the spread of COVID-19and to protect the public healthcare system.
At the same time some companies, particularly in non-essential sectors like tourism andhospitality, are struggling to stay in businessand people have been laid off and taken pay
cuts. In the European Union, about 25% of
women employees are in precarious jobs.2 In
the United States, unemployment was estimated at 13% on 3 April 2020, an increase of
8.5 million people compared to mid-March.3
Millions of families are unable to buy basic
necessities or pay their rent and utility bills.

The COVID-19 pandemic calls for an immediate
coordinated, people-centered and gender-sensitive response. Governments, businesses, workers’ representatives and individuals all need to be
involved to mitigate the impact on people’s lives
and to address the specific risks and vulnerabilities girls and women face because of the deeply rooted inequalities and stereotypes in society.
The private sector has a responsibility to use
its power, influence and resources to protect
the rights and physical and mental well-being of employees during this time, as well as toensure long-term business recovery efforts restore economic stability. Businesses also playa key role in addressing the needs of women in their supply chains and customer base.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is not just ahealth issue. It is a profound shock to oursocieties and economies, and women are at
the heart of care and response efforts underway. As front-line responders, healthprofessionals, community volunteers, transport and logistics managers, scientists andmore, women are making critical contributions to address the outbreak every day.”4

As employers and an engine of economic growth,
the private sector has an especially importantrole to play in not just mitigating the impact of
COVID-19, but in slowing the spread of the virus.
Early and targeted action by the private sector
will reduce immediate health risks to employees,
while also reducing the overall economic impact.

COVID-19 will have short and long-term effects on
the global economy.10 The layoffs we are witnessing
today will be felt over the months and years to comethroughout global supply chains, including in countries not currently in the epicentre of the pandemic.

DID YOU KNOW?
COVID-19 is affecting women in many ways,
from concerns for their health and safety and income security, to additional caring responsibilities and increased exposure to domestic violence.
•Compounded economic impacts are felt especially by women and girls who are generally
earning less, saving less and holding insecurejobs or living close to poverty.5

Globally, women represent 55.8% of employees in service industries, while in theG7, women make up around 88% of the service industry workforce. Most are unable towork remotely and may require additional care support for children or older family
members as they leave their homes to work.7•

As the COVID-19 pandemic deepens economic and social stress coupled with restrictedmovement and social isolation measures,
gender-based violence is increasing exponentially.8•

Isolation and social distancing has increased
the risk of domestic violence and abuse. Women in violent relationships are not only exposed to their abuser for long periods of time,they are unable to leave home or discreetly
call helplines.9•

Global value chains are being disrupted by
COVID-19. Women play a key role at every levelas farmers, workers, processors, entrepreneurs,buyers, service providers and employees.

•Women are at the frontline as healthcare
workers, working long hours and exposing
themselves to risk while caring for patients. Yet
their jobs are often the most undervalued andunderpaid.

•

Women tend to rely much more on public
transport than men, putting women at greaterrisk of catching COVID-19 as they commute
to work, care for relatives or do grocery shopping.

•While early reports reveal more men are dying
as a result of COVID-19, the health of women
generally is adversely impacted through thereallocation of resources and priorities, including sexual and reproductive health services.6•Social distancing is not possible for everyone.
Millions of households depend on daily careand help from women as primary caretakers.

•Closure of schools and childcare have placed
significant additional care burdens on womenin the home. It has put a spotlight on society’sreliance on women and girls in informal andformal care structures.

•The impact on non-essential businesses, especially in the services sector, are particularly
concerning for women as business owners andas employees. Many of them are losing theirlivelihoods because working from home is not
an option.

The Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs)
are a set of seven principles offering guidance tobusiness on how to promote gender equality andwomen’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community. During this time of upheaval and uncertainty, the WEPs are a great resource
for the private sector to help them protect themost vulnerable groups. The WEPs are informed byinternational labour and human rights standards
and are grounded in the recognition that businesses have both a stake in and a responsibility
for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

CALL TO ACTION

In addition to complying with local and national COVID-related policies and mandates, companies should take into consideration the threecross-cutting priorities laid out by the United
Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres:11
1. Ensure women’s equal representation in
all COVID-19 response planning and decision-making;
2. Drive transformative change for equality byaddressing issues of paid and unpaid care;•Establish clear internal communication channels to employees with regular and accurate
updates and advice about the COVID-19situation;•Support remote working at scale and tackle
strains on the existing information technology
and communications infrastructure;•Spread the word about the gender differentiated impacts of the pandemic and encourageother companies to sign the WEPs.

3. Target women and girls in all efforts toaddress the socio-economic impact of
COVID-19.
These cross-cutting priorities should form part ofany COVID-19 response, including through theWEPs framework, and should be centered aroundemployees, women entrepreneurs in global supply chains, consumers as well as women and girls in
local communities. They aim to ensure that no one
is left behind during or after the COVID-19 crisis.

WORKPLACE•

Be mindful of employees with caring responsibilities and accommodate the additional
needs they may have during this time of crisis.
This includes flexible working hours for parents, particularly single parents and parents ofdisabled children;•Adopt flexible working arrangements with full
pay during and beyond the COVID-19 crisis for
all workers. Pay at least a living wage to shortterm and contract workers, and offer paid sick,family and emergency leave;•

Encourage men employees to share the responsibility of household work and unpaid
care of children, the elderly and family members with disabilities;•Consider the physical, mental and emotional
health of all employees and be aware of women’s increased exposure to domestic violence
while confined to home. Consider establishinga special contact person within human resources to support staff experiencing domestic violence;•

Share widely, with all employees, information
about public services, including domestic violence hotlines and support services for survivors of violence, psychosocial support services
and pre- and post-natal healthcare.

LEADERSHIP••

Ensure that COVID-19 specific policies andcrisis responses are gender sensitive andinclusive, by consulting internal and external
stakeholders;
Consult and collaborate between governments, workers and employers, and theirrepresentatives is essential for responses to beeffective and sustainable. Women must haveopportunity to participate;•Publicly signal the CEO and the executive
team’s commitment to addressing genderinequalities, and particularly during theCOVID-19 pandemic;•Ensure there is diversity and that women’svoices have a role in crisis taskforces and response teams, and that both women and men
are represented and involved in decisions;

MARKETPLACE•

Take the opportunity to discover new local
businesses, particularly women-owned businesses who are affected by the crisis or those
who are helping the pandemic response. Buy
their products and services and encourage
your business partners and employees to dothe same;•Provide leniency to women entrepreneursthat have had to close their business becauseof COVID-19 and may be struggling to pay
debts. Offer targeted financial products andservices to save them from bankruptcy;•

Take proactive measures through internaland external communications to challenge
gender stereotypes and roles, discrimination,inequality and harmful masculinities.

COMMUNITY•

Promote awareness and visibility of small
independent organizations and individual
women or men that are at the frontline ofpandemic response efforts;•Communicate to women in your local community the importance of life-long learningand the opportunity to acquire a new skill
that will be needed for post-COVID-19 recovery;•

Provide grants to organizations and institutions such as women’s associations andshelters that support women with specificneeds: the elderly, survivors of violence, single mothers and disabled women;•

Donate personal protective equipment, foodand services to support the daily lives of individuals in the community, and offer a shortterm moratorium on household expenses
like rent and utilities.

TRANSPARENCY ANDREPORTING•

Collect and report on sex-disaggregated data
related to evolving rates of infection, economic impacts, care burden, and the incidence of sexual violence and abuse;12•

Share information about the gender-differentiated response to COVID-19 as part of yourcommitment to the WEPs.

ENDNOTES
1. See also www.unwomen.org and https://data2x.org/resource-center/gender-and-data-resources-related-to-covid-19/
2. European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), “Coronavirus puts women in the frontline,” 25 March 2020. Available at: https://eige.europa.eu/news/coronavirus-puts-women-frontline
3. Coronavirus Live Updates: Unemployment Soars as Congress Considers More Relief,
The New York Times, April 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/us/coronavirus-updates-usa.html
4. UN Women, In Focus: Gender equality matters in COVID-19 response, 2020, https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/in-focus-gender-equality-in-covid-19-response
5. United Nations Secretary-General Policy Brief, “The Impact of Covid-19 On Womenand Girls,” 9 April 2020. Available at: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/
attachments/sections/library/publications/2020/policy-brief-the-impact-of-covid-19on-women-en.pdf?la=en&vs=5029
6. United Nations Secretary-General Policy Brief, “The Impact of Covid-19 On Womenand Girls,” 9 April 2020. Available at: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/
attachments/sections/library/publications/2020/policy-brief-the-impact-of-covid-19on-women-en.pdf?la=en&vs=5029
7. OECD, Small Businesses, Job Creation and Growth, https://www.oecd.org/cfe/smes/2090740.pdf
8. United Nations Secretary-General Policy Brief, “The Impact of Covid-19 On Womenand Girls,” 9 April 2020. Available at: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/
attachments/sections/library/publications/2020/policy-brief-the-impact-of-covid-19on-women-en.pdf?la=en&vs=5029
9. Women Are Using Code Words at Pharmacies to Escape Domestic Violence During
Coronavirus Lockdown, News 7 Boston, 6 April, 2020, https://whdh.com/news/women-are-using-code-words-at-pharmacies-to-escape-domestic-violence-during-coronavirus-lockdown/
10. See for example, UNICEF, ILO and UN Women. 2020. “Family-friendly policies andother good workplace practices in the context of COVID-19.” Available at: https://www.
unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2020/03/family-friendly-policies-and-other-good-workplace-practices-in-the-context-of-covid-19
11. United Nations Secretary-General Policy Brief, “The Impact of Covid-19 On Womenand Girls,” 9 April 2020. Available at: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/
attachments/sections/library/publications/2020/policy-brief-the-impact-of-covid-19on-women-en.pdf?la=en&vs=5029
12. See for example, UNICEF, ILO and UN Women. 2020. “Family-friendly policies andother good workplace practices in the context of COVID-19.” Available at: https://www.
unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2020/03/family-friendly-policies-and-other-good-workplace-practices-in-the-context-of-covid-19

weps.org@WEPrinciples
empowerwomen.org@Empower_Women

Funded by:

Principle 1

Establish high-level corporate leadershipfor gender equality.

Principle 2

Treat all women and men fairly at work– respect andsupport human rights and nondiscrimination.

Principle 3

Ensure the health, safety and well-being of
all women and men workers.

Principle 4

Promote education, training and professional
development for women.

Principle 5

Implement enterprise development, supply chain
and marketing practices that empower women.

Principle 6

Promote equality through community initiatives
and advocacy.

Principle 7

Measure and publicly report on progressto achieve gender equality.

Produced by:

In support of:

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the European Union, UN Women, International Labour Organization or the United Nations