Socio-economic constraints in re-entering the labour market during COVID-19 and the resilience of female informal workers living in urban informal settlements

During COVID-19, female informal workers living in urban informal settlements in Bangladesh have faced greater challenges in re-entering the labour market than their male counterparts. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study, which has explored how the pre-existing socio-economic constraints around gender norms, gender roles, occupational sex-segregation, lack of education and skills, informality and restricted mobility have made the re-entry process extremely difficult for these workers during COVID-19 in Dhaka city. The paper also illustrates that these workers have adopted strategies catered for short-lasting crises to cope with the challenges arisen from their struggle to secure livelihoods. © 2023 Department of Social Work, National University of Singapore, Singapore.

COVID-19's impacts on business activities and female workers: Empirical evidence from global developing economies.

This paper empirically examines the economic impacts of COVID-19 on firms' business activities and female workers in 10 developing economies around the world. Based on a survey conducted by the World Bank, we constructed a firm-level panel dataset and investigated how firms' production and finances have developed during COVID-19. We also investigated female workers' employment situations and how they were affected by firm performance. COVID-19 indeed casted seriously adverse impacts in the developing world. As time passes, firms' production has been recovering, but their finances are worsening, and the female workers are facing worse situations in forms of higher probabilities of losing jobs and getting furloughed. Other variables such as workforce, capacity utilisation, and exports also play important roles in this process.

The role of labor in cash holdings: Evidence from the supply-side impact of COVID-19.

This study investigates the dynamics of corporate cash holdings. We argue that firms in industries with low remote work feasibility have more incentives to hold cash during COVID-19 because of a precautionary saving motive or to retain their employees. The analysis results consistently show that firms less able to transition to remote work maintain higher cash holdings during COVID-19, and, more importantly, this effect is stronger for firms with more employees. Furthermore, we find that a higher share of female workers is associated more strongly with high levels of cash holdings for firms with low remote work capacity during COVID-19.

Health Problems and Related Factors during Work from Home (WfH) in Female Workers throughout COVID-19 Outbreak in Indonesia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: The Indonesian government has adopted a policy of implementing Work From Home (WFH) to prevent the increasing number of Covid-19 transmissions. The enforcement of WFH has an impact on the health of female workers. Health problem was the certain health disorders that arise in a person are caused by certain situations. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of health problems and related factors in female workers during the COVID-19 outbreak in Indonesia. Methods: We applied to the online survey during the second year of pandemic COVID-19 in Indonesia, between April and June 2021. This cross-sectional study is data acquired from an online survey by 102 female workers. We classify female workers into several groups based on their health problems, such as age, education level, occupation, and marital status. We collected the data, then examined it statistically. Results: From the total of female workers respondents, the prevalence of health problems was 54%. Furthermore, after statistical examination, we found out that the occupation factor has a correlation with health problems, and the teachers/lecturers had the biggest percentage of health problems, as much as 61.2%. Conclusion: There were a lot of female workers who had health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic, which related to her occupation. © 2022 UPM Press. All rights reserved.

Negotiating Indonesian Married Women’s Agency in a Career : Work From Home Arrangement as a Possible Solution

Financial challenges have led to the emergence of dual-earner couples. Nonetheless, in male-dominated societies like Indonesia, women’s career involvement, although contributing to the household income, is not correlated with men’s contribution to the household task. A career is seen as a privilege for women because their primary value is conventionally anchored on marriage and family. International studies suggested that the Work From Home (WFH) arrangement is an effective solution to enable women to balance their work and family roles. While WFH was non-existent in Indonesia before the COVID-19 pandemic, the latter forced companies to adopt the former. This provided an opportunity to examine whether WFH can be a remedy for working Indonesian women to negotiate their work and family roles. Hence this study is aimed to look closely at the issue, comprising two general aims. First, it provides a general picture of current practices of division of gender in Indonesia using current literature. Second, using online survey data from 201 Indonesian workers, this report provides empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of WFH, particularly for married working women in Indonesia in negotiating their work and household roles. While describing current feminism issues in the non-WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) societies, the article also discusses the long-term practical strategy to empower Indonesian women in careers by emphasizing gender equality while acknowledging the men’s leadership role.

TWO CITIES IN ONE. WORK, WOMEN, AND ECONOMICS IN THE LATIN AMERICA CITY

Neoliberalism and financialization of the economy have produced a transformation in labour markets, having an impact on the dualization of cities. The pandemic caused by COVID-19 deepened these processes, leaving women to pay the main costs. In this context, the right to the city was placed under discussion. This article will illustrate a specific case, the controversy that emerged in Mar del Plata and Batán (Party of General Pueyrredón, Argentina) due to the pandemic’s socio-economic consequences, how these should be resolved, what status do the parties in the litigation have, and what was the role of women in this process. Central aspects will be discussed, such as the way in which the city reconfigures the process of ex-pulsion from labour markets and the distribution of health, and how the CBEs (neighbourhood emergency committees) emerge as a setting for social antagonism. Finally, occupation and use of public space, the demand and transformation of institutions at the local level, and the political dimensions of resignification of cities will be analysed. © 2022 CSIC.

Protection of Female Workers' rights in Employment and Incomes in Vietnam

As an important task of the country's socio-economic development, protecting the rights of female workers in employment and income is concerned and implemented by international organizations and all countries in the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting the global economy and hurt the incomes and employment of many female workers. In Vietnam nowadays, there is an increase in the unemployment rate of female workers, gender inequality in employment and income, and the ability to secure their jobs and income. The article analyzes the current regulations and their implementation in the employment and income of Vietnamese female workers in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The article also proposes some recommendations on legal provisions related to training backup jobs, arranging and employing female employees, providing income support for female employees during leave due to the COVID-19 epidemic;and policies related to female workers and their employers. These recommendations will improve Vietnam's labor law on female workers' rights in employment and income and enhance the efficiency of human resource use and socio-economic development. © 2021 Polish Mineral Engineering Society. All rights reserved.

Protection of Female Workers' rights in Employment

As an important task of the country's socio-economic development, protecting the rights of female workers in employment and income is concerned and implemented by international organizations and all countries in the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting the global economy and hurt the incomes and employment of many female workers. In Vietnam nowadays, there is an increase in the unemployment rate of female workers, gender inequality in employment and income, and the ability to secure their jobs and income. The article analyzes the current regulations and their implementation in the employment and income of Vietnamese female workers in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The article also proposes some recommendations on legal provisions related to training backup jobs, arranging and employing female employees, providing income support for female employees during leave due to the COVID-19 epidemic;and policies related to female workers and their employers. These recommendations will improve Vietnam's labor law on female workers' rights in employment and income and enhance the efficiency of human resource use and socio-economic development.

The impact of COVID-19 on gender inequality: A study on cross-sector inequality in the US

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in substantial employment losses in the US. To understand how this impact fell on male and female workers unevenly, I empirically investigate the impacts of COVID-19 on the gender inequality in labor markets and analyze the variation in effects across sectors. I find that the COVID-19 pandemic influences all sectors to different degrees, with the tertiary (service) sector hit the hardest. The pandemic has also exacerbated gender inequality in certain sectors, but not all: women working in the tertiary sector are most economically harmed, while sectors that rely mostly on knowledge and technology tend to work remotely and generally have the least impact in working hours from the pandemic. The intersectionality of race, gender, and educational attainment also contributes to the disparities in labor markets across all sectors. Results also show that marriage benefits employment, and that having children under the age of five could slightly disadvantage workers in the labor markets. © 2021 ACM.

Effect of family stress on life satisfaction among female workers during the COVID-19 epidemic in China: Exploring the roles of anxiety symptoms and age.

The study aimed to investigate the level of life satisfaction (LS) among Chinese female workers after resuming work during the COVID-19 epidemic, and to further explore the potential mediating and moderating roles in the association between family stress and LS. Self-reported questionnaires were completed by 10,175 participants. Results showed that the level of LS decreased. The family stress had a negative effect on LS, and the effect was mediated by anxiety symptoms. Additionally, age moderated the direct and indirect effects within this relationship. Interventions aiming to improve LS should consider these aspects and younger workers should be given special attention.