Items tagged “economy”

Women & Unpaid Work: the impact of Covid-19 on women's caring roles

Women’s equality cannot be realised while women still have do so much more childcare, care for older and disabled people, and housework than men. Covid-19 has exposed the extent to which women shoulder the majority of this unpaid work, and are assumed to be available to pick up the slack during a crisis. Doing unpaid work pushes women into poverty, with women four times more likely than men to give up employment because of multiple caring roles. It also stops women studying, doing community work, and even using local services. The ongoing impact on Covid-19 will also hit women hardest, with social care services withdrawn, delays to school reopening, and reductions in services by charities. Yet despite its overwhelming importance to women’s lives, unpaid care work rarely features in legislative or policy discussions.

This report highlights the impact of Covid-19 on women's caring roles, and makes recommendation for how Scottish Government can measure, value, and reduce women's unpaid work.

Date of publication: July 2020