Seven lessons on how recessions impact women

International evidence shows that in past recessions, men have tended to lose their jobs at a slightly faster rate than women. A key reason is that men are overrepresented in cyclical sectors such as construction, agriculture and manufacturing, which tend to be more severely affected by any economic downturn. However, while the impacts of a recession on women tend to be less immediate, they are no less severe.

In past recessions, single mothers have experienced higher unemployment rates than mothers who have a partner. One explanation may be that when jobs are scarce, it may be more attractive for employers to hire mothers who can share childcare with a partner.

Women with childcare responsibilities have also been disadvantaged compared with men or other women in continuous employment, due to restricted internal labour markets and employer perceptions that these women are unreliable or can’t work flexibly.

Women on maternity leave may also be disproportionately vulnerable to job losses during a recession. Research by the UK Government Equalities Office during the GFC showed that one quarter of men believed that in difficult economic times it made ‘more sense for people on maternity leave to be made redundant first.’

The data on redundancy rates for men and women in recessions may not be telling the whole story.

For example, in the UK in the aftermath of the GFC, the redundancy rate for men was 14.1%, versus 8.3% for women. However, what those bare statistics don’t convey is that women are less likely than men to have worked continuously due to having children and are more likely to work on temporary contracts, and this means they are often ineligible for redundancy payments in the first place.

Beyond the immediate crisis, COVID-19 may ultimately promote gender equality in the labour market. The first reason is that organisations have been forced to adopt flexible work arrangements, and this may continue after the pandemic.

Second, many fathers have taken primary responsibility for childcare during the crisis, or a larger share than previously. This may erode the social norms that have led to a lopsided division of labour in housework and childcare.

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