The novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic could set back South Africa’s decades of work into achieving gender equality in the labour market, according to a research paper by the Southern African Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) at the University of Cape Town (UCT).

The research paper titled 'Unpacking the potential implications of Covid-19 for gender inequality in the SA labour market' indicates that since 1994, the gender wage gap improved from 40% to 16% in 2014.

However, the study explains that the gains now hang in the balance owing to the pandemic.

Postdoctoral fellow at SALDRU and lead author Dr Jacqueline Mosomi says owing to the occupations that women undertake, they are at a higher risk of losing their income sources and are more likely to be exposed to the virus compared to men.

She further explains that the 2008/09 global financial crisis unintentionally reduced gender inequality in the labour market as it impacted male-dominated industries more than those dominated by women.

However, the health risks associated with the Covid-19 pandemic have set it apart from past economic downturns.

The hardest hit women-dominated industries include the services sector, with approximately 31% of all employed women; followed by the trade, finance and domestic worker sectors, which employ 22%, 15% and 14% of women respectively.

“One concern is that the Covid-19 pandemic may undermine access to income for women – and black women, in particular – more so than for men. This is because female employment is clustered in the services sector, adversely affected by the health and safety protocols implemented to reduce infection. This could be a major setback for gender equality in the labour market,” she reiterates.