Women’s work during pandemic in the BIMSTEC region – Fahmida Khatun

Originally posted in Observer Research Foundation on 15 January, 2021

The adverse impact of the pandemic on women has been felt through a number of ways including employment and income loss.

This article is part of the series — BIMSTEC in 2021.

The BIMSTEC countries have made an improvement in the case of women’s empowerment over the past years. Women’s participation in the labour market, educational qualifications, and participation in the decision-making jobs have increased in these countries. However, the gender gap is still high in these countries. The recently published Human Development Report 2020 of the United Nations Development Programme shows that in terms of the Gender Inequality Index (GII), Bangladesh ranked 133^rd, Bhutan 99^th, India 123^rd, Myanmar 118^th, Nepal 110^th, Sri Lanka 90^th, and Thailand ranked 80^th among the 189 countries in 2019.

The World Economic Forum reveals that in 2020, out of 153 countries, five BIMSTEC countries such as Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka rank below 100^th position in the Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI). Bangladesh ranks 50^th and Thailand 75^th in the list. All these countries have slipped in the GGGI 2020 compared to the 2018 index due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Compared to the 2018 GGGI, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Sri Lanka lost two positions each, India and Nepal four positions, Bhutan nin positions, and Myanmar slipped down by 26 positions. The GGGI is prepared based on four indicators such as economic participation opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. One of the reasons for this drop is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women.

The impact of the pandemic is disproportionately felt by certain sections of people. Women are among the most vulnerable sections who have been the worst victims of the pandemic. This may have a long-run implication on women empowerment across countries. The adverse impact of the pandemic on women has been felt through a number of ways including employment and income loss.

Women in the region have been hard-hit by the pandemic as they are mostly engaged in low paid informal activities. As a result, as soon as the pandemic broke out, they were the first ones to lose jobs. Those who are still employed have to accept reduced working hours and lower income. The pandemic has also increased the burden of household activities. They have experienced higher reduction in employment and working hours compared to men in most economies in the second quarter of 2020 over the same time period previous year.

One of the important sources of female employment in a number of BIMSTEC countries is the readymade garments (RMG) industry. RMG is the largest employer of women among all industrial sectors in some countries in the region. In Sri Lanka, roughly one in seven women are employed in the sector and one in nine women in Bangladesh and Myanmar. Therefore, as global buyers cancelled orders due to economic recession in their countries, not only did the manufacturers face loss, but the women workers also had to bear the brunt of it. Many of them have been dismissed or given leave without pay from their jobs.

In the service sector, the tourism industry has been hard-hit due to the pandemic. In Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, the share of employment in the tourism sector is 9, 8.1, and 6.8 percent, respectively. Women’s participation in the tourism sector in these countries is higher than men. The pandemic has forced them to go for either unpaid leaves or accept lower wages; many have even lost their jobs.

Women who are self-employed in micro, small, and medium enterprises are facing serious challenges to stay afloat during the pandemic. Demand and supply disruptions have led to income erosions and even business closures in some cases.

Consequently, governments had to adopt certain policy measures in response to this. In India, 200 million women with Jan Dhan accounts were to be given an amount of INR 500 per month for three months. Additionally, the Indian government has also announced that it will provide free LPG cylinders to women in 83 million families below the poverty line for three months under the Ujjwala scheme. In Bangladesh, an amount of Bangladeshi Taka 20,000 crores has been allocated for the cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises (CMSMEs). Besides, the government has also announced to provide Tk 2,500 as cash support to 50 lakh (5 million) households. As of October 2020, a total of about 35 lakh (3.5 million) households (70 percent) received this support, out of which 75 percent were male-headed and 25 percent were female-headed households.

Despite increased adverse impact of the pandemic on women, support measures by governments for them have been insignificant. There is a need for increased support for women to reinstate women’s businesses and to create income opportunities for them by engaging in employment. The stimulus packages in the form of liquidity support have been difficult for women to access due to various structural problems. These include lack of collaterals, bank guarantee and necessary documents, and banks’ reluctance to provide loans to small businesses.

The nature of businesses is also rapidly changing. The pandemic has expedited the use of technology in work and businesses. E-commerce has been flourishing. However, women are not being able to use this opportunity not only because of lack of funds but also skills. So, providing women all the necessary support to benefit from this opportunity and bringing them back to employment will require upskilling and reskilling. Clearly, women in the region will require support from the government, the private sector, and the non-government organisations to be able to catch up with the emerging nature of business and the new dynamics of the labour market.

The views expressed above belong to the author(s).