Blog 5_COVID 19 and Unpaid Care in Ethiopia

To what extent has COVID-19 exacerbated the burden of unpaid care work?

Globally, Ethiopia is one of the top three countries for the amount of time children and adolescent girls spend on work in the household. When domestic chores (such as collecting water and firewood, cooking, and cleaning) are considered alongside paid work and agricultural work, adolescent girls, and particularly those in poor and rural households, are much more likely than boys to spend a “harmful” amount of time working each day (defined as 4 hours per day or more), despite adolescent boys being more likely to be in the labour.

The idea that women and girls’ roles are confined to the home is supported by pervasive gender norms and stereotypes. Household chores have gotten harder as a result of the pandemic’s impact on school closures and the rise in home-based employment. Girls and women are expected to make up the difference by caring for sick children and family members. Women spent three times as much time performing unpaid domestic and caregiving tasks as men did prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both men and women have spent more time providing care during the pandemic, but women have increased this work by a much greater amount. This increase in women’s household responsibilities could set back efforts to achieve gender equality.

What is the impact of COVID 19 in Ethiopia?

Since COVID-19 was first reported in Ethiopia in March of 2021, the impacts of the pandemic, the measures taken to curb COVID-19, and additional political, economic, and environmental crises have severely impacted the population. In this crisis, women and girls bear different burdens, and emergency responses frequently fail to take into account the unique needs and impacts of women and girls.

Is the impact of COVID 19 linked to unpaid care?

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted various groups, deepening existing inequalities and causing devastating social and economic consequences for women and girls. The(UN, 2018) report suggests that the pandemic could reverse limited progress on gender equality and women’s rights, and recommends putting women’s leadership and contributions at the heart of resilience and recovery.

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought attention to the state of women weil being, access to social, legal and justice systems, income and employee support, and mental and physical health services (Aoyagi, 2021).

Women living in poverty report larger increases in unpaid care and domestic work than women in higher-income countries, likely due to lack of access to basic services. As markets fall and businesses close, millions of women’s jobs disappear, and unpaid care work increases. Governments must prioritise women and girls in recovery efforts, focusing on equal representation and decision-making power.

The heavy and unequal responsibility of care work falling to women and girls has been detrimental to their lives in profound ways: it has perpetuated gender and economic inequalities and undermined their health and wellbeing, while enabling men’s dominance in business and politics. As women enter their peak productive and reproductive years, their likelihood of experiencing extreme poverty increases from 4% to 22%, (UN, 2018) mainly due to unequal childcare responsibilities. Heavy and unequal care responsibilities have also been shown to limit women’s participation in social and political activities.(Oxfam, 2020)

Social safety nets, while intended to alleviate the financial burden of crises, have often fallen short in protecting adolescent well-being and mitigating the impact of pandemic shocks on the most vulnerable adolescents. In response, this paper proposes several suggestions that all stakeholders, including governments, international organisations, and the private sector, should consider. It also highlights examples of actions that have already been taken to address these challenges.

Advocates for women’s rights are actively working towards recognising domestic and caregiving work. Their goal is to raise awareness about this issue and provide both men and women with the necessary resources and support to share household responsibilities. To effect change, it is vital to include unpaid care work in statistics, acknowledge its significant contribution to the economy, and provide appropriate recognition and rewards for women’s valuable contributions. Furthermore, policymaking processes should take unpaid care work into account, ensuring that it is adequately addressed and integrated into relevant policies (Bolis et al., 2020). By implementing these measures, we can make a tangible difference in promoting gender equality and supporting women’s well-being and empowerment.

What happened in the time of COVID?

Resulted in a significant amount of disparities among women and men labour in an economy and agriculture, the pandemic is leading women into more disadvantageous and affected groups.
COVID-19 pandemic’s vulnerability has consistent, detrimental effects on a number of aspects of adolescent well-being,
Social safety nets in Ethiopia have not been effective in protecting adolescent wellbeing, and gendered impacts of COVID-19 on time use and additional social protection programming is needed.

5 recommended points to build more effective, inclusive and resilient systems.

Care needs to be considered a universal right and must be put at the heart of the global and national agenda.
Governments need to design comprehensive care systems from the gender and intersectional perspective that foster co-shared responsibility between men and women, the state, the market, households and the community.
Measures to protect and stimulate the economy must be targeted at women, and social safety nets must be expanded.
Care systems should include policies that provide universal, good-quality public services, resources and infrastructure to meet the different care needs of the population.
Policies that help women, like paid family leave, cash-for-care programs, flexible work hours, and childcare options, are essential.

Conclusion

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on adolescent resilience and mental health, with girls being particularly vulnerable because of their significant domestic responsibilities. It was seen that there is an increase in the amount of unpaid domestic and care work performed when the pandemic broke out and due to the various travel and work restrictions being implemented because women, men, and children would be spending more time at home than they otherwise would have. With a focus on social protection that is age and gender responsive as an important policy tool to ensure an equitable post-pandemic recovery for both adolescent boys and girls, there is a need to pay particular attention to those who are most vulnerable. In conclusion greater economic support is necessary for the most vulnerable in order to strengthen resilient coping.

Reference

Aoyagi, C. (2021). Effects of covid-19 on regional and gender equality in Sub-Saharan africa: Evidence from Nigeria and Ethiopia. IMF Working Papers, 169, 1.
Bolis, M., Butt, A. P., Holten, E., Mugehera, L., Abdo, N., & Moreno, M. L. (2020). Care in the Time of Coronavirus: Why care work needs to be at the centre of a post-COVID-19 feminist future. Oxfam. https://doi.org/10.21201/2020.6232
Oxfam. (2020). Dignity Not Destitution: An ‘Economic Rescue Plan For All’ to Tackle the Coronavirus Crisis and Rebuild a More Equal World. Oxfam Media Briefing. Oxford: Oxfam GB.
UN Women (2018). Turning Promises into Action: Gender Equality in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. New York: UN Women. https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2018/2/gender-equality-in-the-2030-agenda-for-sustainable-development-2018