Many more women than men said left unemployed by coronavirus crisis
Some 116,000 more woman have lost their jobs either temporarily or permanently due to the pandemic, report says
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The number of Israeli women left unemployed by the coronavirus pandemic is some 28 percent higher than men, according to a Friday report.
Data from the National Employment Service shows 535,000 women have lost their jobs either temporarily or permanently due to the lockdowns brought on by the virus, compared to 419,000 men — a difference of 116,000, Haaretz reported.
Prior to the crisis, unemployment rates were more or less equal between the genders, with slightly more women without jobs.
In April, United Nations officials said the pandemic was exacerbating inequalities between men and women globally, affecting the latter to a greater degree.
In Israel unemployment has ballooned over the past two months from under 4% in the beginning of March to 27.4% last week, or over 1.1 million people.
Attorney Michal Gera Margaliot, executive director of the Israel Women’s Network, told Haaretz: “Women are the first to be fired and may be the last to reenter the employment market. This comes, among other things, from their role as main caregivers [of children] in most Israeli households, and from gender stereotypes and an attitude toward women’s work as a second job that is less important than a man’s job.”
The past week has seen many workplaces allowed to return to operation in limited capacities as infection rates drop. However many shops and services are working in reduced capacity.
New unemployment data as a result of the changes is not yet available.
The Times of Israel Community.