Report highlights disproportionate impact of pandemic on women
In February and March, 60% of U.S. jobs lost were held by women.
Between an existing gender disparity in business and women’s overrepresentation in sectors that were disproportionately hit by the pandemic, women have been hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Mastercard’s annual Index of Women Entrepreneurs.
Related: Pandemic-led ‘shecession’ hit women harder than men
“Regardless of an economy’s wealth, level of development, size, and geographic location, women are disproportionately more vulnerable to the wholescale disruption caused by the pandemic,” the report found.
Mastercard’s index is based on 12 indicators and 25 subindicators to rank working environments in 58 countries.
The United States slipped from the No. 1 spot into second place, the report found. In the U.S., women account for about 30% of business owners, and entrepreneurial activity among women increased from 10.7% in 2018 to 16.6% this year.
“The favorable cultural regard for entrepreneurism is encouraging, and reflects the high visibility and leadership that role models provide for entrepreneurs,” according to the report. “These enabling, underlying factors remain crucial in promoting women’s strong standing socioeconomically as business leaders, professionals and technical workers, and especially as business owners.”
Globally, challenges remain. The index pointed to fear of failure and lack of confidence as major deterrents to entrepreneurs around the world.
Lack of funding is another critical obstacle, as 90% of Indonesian respondents in an April survey said they needed urgent funding support. Lack of motivation, particularly for entrepreneurs in industries hardest hit by the pandemic, is another significant challenge.
Related: Female leaders becoming more confident, male leaders less so
Impact of COVID-19
Citing data from the International Labor Organization, the report found that almost 81% of the world’s labor force was impacted by lockdown measures in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic.
That decreased to 68% of the global workforce by the end of April, but high-income economies like Israel, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States still had 70% of workers impacted in late May.
Employment for women fell by more than 16% between April 2019 and April 2020 in Canada, Colombia and the United States, the report found, and in February and March, 60% of U.S. jobs lost were held by women. Meanwhile, employment among men actually increased.
Related: Older workers hit hardest by pandemic-related unemployment
“Some of the key reasons reside on women being engaged in careers that are not readily adaptable to teleworking, and their high representation in part-time employment – roles that are usually the first to be cut in times of economic crisis or business downturns,” according to the report.
Some other findings from the report:
- Women with tertiary qualifications, advanced skill sets and formal employment are better positioned to retain their jobs.
- One third of women business owners say their caregiving responsibilities have limited the amount of time they can dedicate to their businesses.
- Nearly a quarter of businesses that laid off or furloughed workers in March or April have hired all of them back, and 34% have hired some of them back.
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