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Covid-19, income and job: The gendered economic fallout

26 Mar 2022

By Ayesha Zainudeen As we hit the two-year mark of the global pandemic, and continuAs we hit the two-year mark of the global pandemic, and continue to count the case numbers and death tolls, this article looks at the impacts that the pandemic has had on household incomes and earning opportunities in India and Sri Lanka. e to count the case numbers and death tolls, this article looks at the impacts that the pandemic has had on household incomes and earning opportunities in India and Sri Lanka.  While incomes have been hit hard and many jobs have been lost, evidence indicates that women have in some instances been harder hit, and remote work and platform economy-related earning opportunities may not have provided as much of a cushion as we could have hoped for.  Incomes took a hit and have not bounced back The Covid-19 pandemic had a crippling effect on household incomes without a doubt, but 2021 survey data shows that many households had still not recovered 18 months into the pandemic.  For instance, during what respondents considered ‘the most severe’ lockdown (the Janata curfew of 2020, for most), 59% in Indian households saw a ‘substantial’ reduction in income (a further 31% reporting a slight reduction) compared to pre-Covid times (Figure 1).  Looking closer at the lower socio-economic group households, the picture is much more bleak, for instance with 72% of the lowest category (SEC E) reporting substantial reductions. Female-headed households in India were particularly harder hit, with 65% reporting a substantial drop in household income, compared to 58% of male-headed households.  By August 2021, 74% of Indian households still reported that their household incomes were below pre-pandemic levels.  In Sri Lanka, the picture was much the same, with 57% of households having experienced a substantial reduction in their income during the first (and strictest) lockdown, and by October 2021, 68% of households reporting that their incomes were still below pre-pandemic levels.  Interestingly, male and female-headed households reported similar changes to their income levels across periods. Once again, the lowest socio-economic category households were hardest hit, with 66% of the SEC E group reporting a substantial reduction in income.  Job loss, men shifting to care work, greater focus on family work The share of the 15+ population that had lost their job within the initial 2020 lockdowns was 14% in India and 13% in Sri Lanka. These numbers exclude those who were engaged in unpaid family work. There was a distinct gender gap in Sri Lanka, with 10% of males compared to 16% of women in the same group having lost their job; in India the level of job loss was the same for men and women.  The level of job loss during the period reported by respondents from male-headed households was almost double (15%) that of respondents from female-headed households (7%) in India. This is at odds with the earlier finding of Indian female-headed households’ incomes being harder hit. The data is not able to shed light on why this is so, but one hypothesis could be that the jobs lost in male headed households were of higher salary levels than those in female headed households.  By the time of survey (March-October 2021) in India, 24% of those that had lost their jobs were still out of work, and 40% of those in Sri Lanka were in a similar situation.  During the lockdown periods, there were minor shifts of men to unpaid house work and both men and women to unpaid family work; presumably this is the effect of families putting more effort into family businesses with job losses, and mobility restrictions in place. But by the time of the survey, most respondents had gone back to their pre-pandemic activities. Remote work not an option for most, harder for women than men Working from home was only seen among 10% of the Indians who had a job during lockdown, with higher numbers in NCT of Delhi (19%) and Maharashtra (13%). But the data clearly shows the divide between groups, with remote work mostly limited to those in a few sectors (namely, finance, insurance and technology in India), and those with higher levels of education. In Sri Lanka, 22% of those with a job during lockdown were able to work from home. Again the divides were clear between those who were more versus less educated, and those coming from higher versus lower socioeconomic group households.  The numbers in India are too small to be disaggregated by gender with any level of statistical confidence. But in Sri Lanka, the gender breaks are telling of the lived experiences of working women during lockdown: When asked about the benefits experienced in remote work, both men and women mentioned the lower transportation costs equally; men were more positive about the extra time that they had to spend with family and for leisure; they also valued the autonomy that they had in their work; a larger proportion of women said they didn’t see any benefit to remote work (Figure 2). When asked about the challenges in remote work (Figure 3), women faced the most difficulty in maintaining a work-life balance, having to undertake more tasks and work more hours, and not having sufficient support to look after their dependents. Men on the other hand found the reduced team cohesion and less organisation the greatest challenge to remote work.  What role did the platform economy play? Limited at best, especially for women In India, less than a quarter (23%) of the 15+ population was aware of the possibilities of various earning opportunities offered by the platform economy. These range from ride sharing to online freelancing to selling home bakes and crafts over social media or ecommerce platforms. Men’s awareness was 29% compared to 16% of women’s. Sri Lanka has a comparatively higher level of awareness (44%), with women’s awareness more or less on par with men’s. The groups that had the highest levels of awareness of this kind of earning opportunity were students, those employed in the public and private sector and the unemployed. Awareness was relatively lower among those in unpaid housework, unpaid family workers, the retired, disabled, etc.  However when it came to making actual use of these opportunities, just 4% of the 15+ population in India made use of them for earning; in Sri Lanka use was higher at 9% of the same group. In India there was a visible gender gap in use, with 6% of Indian men compared to 2% of women, albeit at low levels of use anyhow. The gap in Sri Lanka was not so large.  In both countries those that used platforms the most for earning opportunities were those that were employed in the public or private sector, the unemployed (who were seeking work) and students. Those engaged in unpaid housework (the largest type of work among women in both countries) were the least likely to make use of platform opportunities to earn, in contrast with the common notion that women often turn to the platform economy for the opportunity of flexible work that allows them to take care of house and care responsibilities simultaneously. Just 1% of those engaged in unpaid house work in India and 4% in Sri Lanka were using platforms to earn by mid 2021.  Amidst the job losses and mobility restrictions that came about due to the pandemic, the platform economy has great potential for new avenues of income generation, and channels for existing economic activity be shifted to.  While awareness is the first step toward use, the little awareness that there is has not translated into substantial use. About the research:  These findings are based on nationally representative face-to-face surveys of the aged 15+ populations of India (excluding Kerala) and Sri Lanka conducted by LIRNEasia. Kerala was excluded due to the Covid-19 situation at the time of survey, rendering fieldwork impossible at the time. The survey samples consisted of 7,000 households in India across 350 villages and wards, and 2,500 households in Sri Lanka across 125 GN Divisions. The sampling methodology has been designed to ensure representation of the target group (population aged 15 and over) at a national level with a confidence level of 95-percent and margins of error of +/-1.7% in India, and +/-2.8% in Sri Lanka.  The surveys were conducted between March and October 2021. This work was funded by the International Development Research Centre (Canada). The LIRNEasia research team consisted of Helani Galpaya, Gayani Hurulle, Tharaka Amarasinghe, Ruwanka De Silva, Oliver Keimweiss, and Neema Jayasinghe. The author acknowledges the valuable comments and assistance on this article received from members of the research team. (The writer is Senior Research Manager at LIRNEasia)


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