Reeling Back Women’s Advancements

Last week, my mother talked to me about how the pandemic has increased the challenge of balancing work and family. She was torn between devoting herself to her career and spending time with her eight-year-old twins who learn remotely. I asked my father if he experienced these same issues, and he stated that he did not. Though I knew that the pandemic would affect women more negatively, as times of crisis tend to harm the oppressed more, it was the first time I saw the effects of these disparities in my household. Though the pandemic has been harmful toward almost everyone, it has proved to be more damaging toward women, more specifically, women from minority groups. Women around the world have faced an increase in economic distress, expected household duties, and domestic violence and a deterioration of mental health during the pandemic.

Women in the past were expected to be housewives, but in recent decades, they have become a major part of the workforce. In fact, 70 percent of essential workers around the world are women. However, the large percentage of women essential workers exposes more women to the virus. Additionally, one in three Black women in the U.S. are frontline workers, but they are paid 11 to 27 percent less than their white men counterparts in the same frontline jobs. The pandemic has brought many disparities to light.

Not only has there been an increase of women in the workforce during the pandemic, but the expectations to care for their households have also increased. In Asia and the Pacific, women work four times more unpaid care than men, and globally, women work more than three times the amount of unpaid care. This number has only increased, as women are expected to care for their children who now stay at home. These mothers feel society’s double standards once again, as they are forced to choose between their careers and families. When my little brother accidentally fell at home, my mother felt guilty. She blamed it on the fact that she did not work from home. Even though she is an essential worker, it seems as if her job is secondary to her role in the family. Due to the pandemic, mothers of young children have arranged four to five times greater work reductions than their paternal counterparts in the United States. Mothers had to cut their work by two hours a week while fathers maintained their work hours. These losses add up and have created a huge step backward for women, as the pandemic is reinforcing the housewife stereotype. This restriction erases the achievements made by women in the past, making one question if society is actually regressing for women during the pandemic.

There has also been a drastic increase in domestic abuse toward women during the pandemic. Anger caused by job loss and stress, which have been exacerbated by the pandemic, is taken out on women and girls. There has been a significant increase in calls to domestic abuse help centers since the pandemic started, as quarantine has led to many unsafe environments for women in their own homes. The National Commission for Women in India recorded that domestic violence cases more than doubled during the pandemic. In many instances, women and girls experiencing domestic abuse are silenced due to lockdowns and economic binds.

The accumulation of all these factors has led to a sharp decline in the mental health of many women, as stress and expectations for women have only increased. In a study conducted by CARE International, 27 percent of women noted an increase in challenges with mental health versus an 11 percent increase for men, and 83 percent of women experienced an increase in depression levels compared to 36 percent of men.

Women have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, and progress that has been made toward gender equality is slowly regressing. The Biden administration has allocated $40 billion toward child care and $170 billion toward education and reopening schools, which will alleviate some stress faced by many struggling mothers. However, hope is not so bright in Africa and Asia, where women make up a small portion of the task force that produces these policies. While many of these policies bring hope, there needs to be a drastic change to ensure that we keep moving forward.