Why the second lockdown is likely to hit women hardest again

The first lockdown endangered the progress women have made in the workplace and saw them bear the brunt of childcare responsibilities – now they’re in for more of the same, writes Maya Oppenheim

Some childcare providers will struggle to survive lockdown two  (Getty)

With a second coronavirus lockdown looming, fears have been raised that the burden of new measures to contain the virus will have a disproportionate impact on women.

A series of studies found women bore the brunt of childcare responsibilities, household chores and homeschooling during the first lockdown – irrespective of whether they were working or not.

Researchers also found women were over-represented in sectors hit hardest by the pandemic, such as hospitality, retail, leisure, tourism and the arts. While a study by the University of Exeter found women were almost twice as likely as men to have lost their job during Covid’s first wave.

A recent TUC study found one in six mothers who work – predominantly in low-paid roles – said they have been forced to curb their working hours. Researchers also found 43 per cent of women said they have been forced to combine working from home with childcare; only 29 per cent of their male partners said the same. Some 90 per cent of single parents are women.

Joeli Brearley, founder and chief executive of campaign group, Pregnant Then Screwed, told The Independent that women’s jobs were “already hanging on a knife-edge” and a second lockdown could be the final straw for the many women who are already finding it difficult “to keep their heads above water”.

“Even with the welcome extension of the job retention scheme, many women working in the [hospitality and retail] sectors will struggle to survive on a 20 per cent pay cut."

She added: “Mothers who are impacted by the closure of their work will face a really difficult winter ahead; they'll have no choice but to continue to pay for childcare as you often have to give a month's notice, which is the entire duration of this lockdown.

“And what happens when a child is sent home from school to self-isolate? Who stays off work to look after that child? We know from the first lockdown, it’s likely to be the mother. ”

It is also worth noting the Covid-19 emergency has worsened existing gender inequalities in mental health. A major study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) released in June found young women are faring worst while older males are the least impacted – with the overall mental health of women aged between 16 and 24 found to be 11 per cent worse than before the crisis.

Joe Levenson, of Young Women’s Trust, which helps women on low or no pay, raised fears it will be young women who “will be hard hit once again”.

He added: “For many young women who have already lost their jobs, the belated extension of the furlough scheme announced this weekend is simply too little too late.

“While this time nurseries and schools are staying open to all, it will remain women who bear the brunt of childcare, and potential loss of earnings, if their children have to self-isolate. Sick pay must be made significantly more generous if young women aren't to be plunged into even greater financial hardship.

“This is a crisis disproportionately affecting the most disadvantaged, and so we remain keen to hear the government explain what impact this virus is having on women and how it plans to address their needs including through requiring employers to report redundancy and job loss data by protected characteristics and ensuring gender pay gap reporting is reinstated for April 2021.”

Sam Smethers, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, a leading gender equality charity, told The Independent that the sectors which are worst hit by lockdown measures are “female-dominated” but especially affect low-paid, younger women and migrant workers.

She added: “We are also facing the prospects of a shrinking childcare sector because the government has failed to intervene to safeguard it.  Losing our childcare infrastructure will undoubtedly hit mothers' employment and undermine our economic recovery.”

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, told The Independent there has already been a “dramatic drop in demand” among early years providers in recent months due to furlough, increasing numbers of people being made redundant or working from home and the coronavirus crisis eating up people’s money.

He added that one in six early years providers are warning of potential closure by Christmas.

What happens when a child is sent home from school to self-isolate? Who stays off work to look after that child? We know from the first lockdown, it’s likely to be the mother

Joeli Brearley, founder of Pregnant then Screwed

“This not only puts [providers’] livelihoods in jeopardy but risks a direct reduction in the availability of childcare at a time when parents, and especially mothers, are likely to be seeking access to places in order to return to work when businesses start to reopen and the jobs market recovers.

“With the sector already under substantial financial pressure, the longer this situation continues, the more pressure that both women working in the early years sector, and those that rely on it, will be under.”

A recent study by the Work Foundation found women are especially at risk of being pushed out of their retail sector jobs in the future due to the sector relocating to warehouses and logistics centres rather running out of shops in the wake of consumers’ habits moving online, due in part to the pandemic.

Retail is Britain’s biggest source of private sector employment, hiring roughly 2.8 million people, 58 per cent of which are women. But the majority of retail jobs lost over the last 10 years were women – with their jobs plummeting by 55,544.

Domestic abuse surged during the first coronavirus lockdown due to paths to safety being shut down for women cooped up at home with abusive partners. At the end of May, it emerged calls to the UK’s national domestic abuse helpline had risen by 66 per cent and visits to its website surged by 950 per cent since the start of the lockdown, while a report released by MPs at the end of April revealed domestic abuse killings in the first 21 days of lockdown were double the total of an average period in the last decade.

Frontline service providers have now raised fears the same could happen again as the nation prepares for a fresh lockdown.

Charlotte Kneer, chief executive of Reigate and Banstead Women's Aid refuge, told The Independent: “During the last lockdown and in the months after we saw an 150 per cent increase in the requests for refuge spaces versus the same period in the previous year. This figure is extremely worrying and highlights the dire shortage of refuge spaces … My very strong message to those experiencing abuse is, please reach out in any way you can”.

While Sophie Francis-Cansfield, of Women's Aid, a leading domestic abuse charity, told The Independent their previous research found two-thirds of women said they felt they had “no one to turn to” in the first lockdown.

She added: “We are concerned that another national lockdown will again make it harder for survivors to escape to safety. We need to make sure that women and children experiencing domestic abuse know that Women’s Aid’s member services remain open and are there to support them throughout the pandemic. 

“It is vital that the government’s communications echoes this, and clearly states that women and children experiencing abuse are able to leave their homes.”

Jane Keeper, the director of operations at Refuge, the UK’s largest provider of shelters for domestic abuse victims, told The Independent it is critical there are ways to ask for help online as it can be especially difficult for victims to call during lockdown.

She said: “We know that the window to get help is ordinarily very limited – that window narrows even further when isolated at home with an abusive partner. With so much of our lives being lived online, it is vital that the support women can receive is digitally accessible too.  Refuge has also extended the hours of its live chat facility.“

Anyone who requires help or support can contact the National Domestic Abuse Helpline which is open 24/7 365 days per year on 0808 2000 247 or via their website nationaldahelpline.org.uk