Gender equality and the impact of COVID-19: Council info and EU Publications

European Ministers for Social Affairs and Employment adopted conclusions on the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic regarding gender equality.

Drafted within the framework of the annual review of the implementation of the UN agenda for gender equality and women's empowerment by the EU and its member states (Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted in 1995), the conclusions acknowledge the progress achieved by the EU in certain areas, such as the adoption of the work-life balance directive, the increased share of women on the boards of large companies and the reduced number of women and men at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

The Council adopted conclusions calling the Commission and the member states for greater efforts to reduce the gender pay gap and gender gaps in care, and to combat gender stereotypes. The Council has approved Conclusions on "Tackling the Gender Pay Gap: Valuation and Distribution of Paid Work and Unpaid Care Work".

Social isolation, school closures and movement restrictions keeping people within their homes led to unprecedented informal care needs and work–life tensions for people looking after others. Women and lone parents, mostly mothers, have borne the brunt of the upheaval, including the more acute socioeconomic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. The service sector, with high female employment rates, was among the hardest hit, and the working conditions of front-line women workers were severely impacted.

Despite significant progress over the last decades, gender inequality still remains a prominent issue in the EU. Published to mark International Women’s Day 2022, this Results Pack seeks to raise awareness of the importance of a gender perspective in research and innovation.

Outbreaks affect men, women and other genders differentially. This can be both the direct infections with a pathogen, or the secondary effects of public health response policies. COVID-19 is no exception, and the gendered impacts thus far and in the future are numerous. This study outlines some of the key gendered effects thus far and suggestions for how these may extend into the postcrisis period based on currently available data on COVID and longer-term effects of previous outbreaks. This includes the lack of sex-disaggregated data, the role of healthcare workers and care workers, domestic violence, the impact of quarantine on feminised sectors of the economy, the additional unpaid labour on women as a result of lockdown, access to maternity, sexual and reproductive health services.

This in-depth, case-analytical overview, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and
Constitutional Affairs at the request of the FEMM Committee, examines the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on a representative sample of member states with the aim of alimenting policy recommendations for the COVID-19 recovery period to ensure that the gains of the past years in the matter of gender equality are not overridden by the short-term negative effects of the measures implemented to combat the COVID-19 sanitary crisis.

On the International Women’s Day, let us recall the context in which the current event is taking place. Two years ago, the World Health Organisation proclaimed the COVID 19 as the global pandemics. In the scope of several weeks, it affected all the countries in the world and persists until this day, in spite of the existence of vaccines. Hence, further societal developments are uncertain and more changes within it are to be expected. In the sections below, the Policy Department tries to address the selected sectors of society affecting women and girls by changes resulting from the effects of the COVID 19 pandemics.

In March 2020, the European Commission released its new European Union (EU) Gender Equality Strategy for 2020-2025, setting out measures to tackle persistent gender inequalities and bring a gender perspective to future priorities such as the digital and green transitions. Since the Strategy's release, the coronavirus pandemic has exposed and exacerbated gender inequalities, creating further challenges. Reports on the EU Gender Equality Strategy, women's participation in the digital economy and the gender impacts of the pandemic are due to be put before the European Parliament during its plenary session in January.

The extent of the negative impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the social and economic situation of women has triggered a debate on the urgent need to take a gender-sensitive approach to the policy response to the pandemic. In this context, the establishment of the EU's biggest financial instrument supporting recovery in the Member States – the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) – is an opportunity to channel the extraordinary resources to the measures that take into account the principles of gender equality. It is also a chance to put in practice the EU's long-standing commitments regarding the need to mainstream gender across different policies and apply gender budgeting principles to EU spending.

Spikes in domestic violence reports during Covid-19 lockdowns were a sad reminder that women frequently face the most danger from people they know. This study examines the action that EU Member States have taken to protect women from intimate partner violence during the pandemic and offers recommendations on what could be improved to ensure that victims have access to support services during times of crisis.

The COVID-19 health crisis has had strong repercussions for the EU labour market, despite the employment and income support measures adopted. The outbreak has also highlighted the importance of providing workers with essential services, such as healthcare, ICT and utilities, education and emergency services (including support services for victims of domestic violence) (ILO, 2020a). The European Institute for Gender Equality's (EIGE) analysis shows that women are over-represented in many of these essential jobs.

Closing gender gaps in the labour market by achieving the equal participation of women is among the key objectives of the new Gender Equality Strategy 2020–2025. Despite significant progress in reducing the gender employment gap, it has stagnated over the past few years. Moreover, segregation in employment across sectors and occupations is still pervasive. Against this background, this policy brief investigates the evolution of female labour market participation in the last decade and shows that the persisting gender employment gap cost Europe more than €320 billion per year in 2018, corresponding to 2.4% of EU GDP. The analysis also examines the disproportionate effects that the current COVID-19 crisis is having on working women, including the risk of disengagement from the labour market and the unintended consequences of confinement measures.

This report presents the findings of the ‘Living, working and COVID-19’ e-survey, carried out by Eurofound to capture the far-reaching implications of the pandemic for the way people live and work across Europe. The survey was fielded online, among respondents who were reached via Eurofound’s stakeholders and social media advertising. Two rounds of the e-survey have been carried out to date: one in April, when most Member States were in lockdown, and one in July, when society and economies were slowly re-opening. The findings of the e-survey from the first round reflected widespread emotional distress, financial worry and low levels of trust in institutions.

This factsheet presents a selection of main findings from the latest round of the e-survey and provides a picture of how the social and economic situation of Europeans has evolved during one year of closures and restrictions. While the rapid development and rollout of vaccines across Europe gives reason to hope that the end of the pandemic is now a real possibility, delays in their delivery as well as unforeseen health risks have slowed down the vaccination process, further stalling the full re-opening of society.

Following the "Living, working and COVID-19 survey", this presentation highlights the impact on women of the Covid 19 pandemic.

The present report is a first attempt to assess potential consequences of the covid-19 outbreak on women and on gender equality in Europe. The report was produced in April 2020, with the aim of informing policy making about the possible impacts of the crisis. Timing does not allow for reporting about actual impacts, as there is hardly any data available on the topic yet. Instead, this work provides an overview of the status quo in some relevant aspects of gender inequalities before the crisis and makes informed predictions on what is likely to happen during the crisis and also after.

Promoting equal economic independence for women and men, closing the gender pay gap, advancing gender balance in decision making, ending gender based violence and promoting gender equality beyond the EU.

The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated existing inequalities for women and marginalised groups in society, putting them at higher risk of domestic violence, unemployment and exposure to the virus, due to their overrepresentation in sectors that have been most affected.

Violence against women is happening across the EU. It’s criminal, a brutal form of discrimination and a violation of women’s fundamental rights.

The EU Gender Equality Strategy delivers on the von der Leyen Commission’s commitment to achieving a Union of Equality. The Strategy presents policy objectives and actions to make significant progress by 2025 towards a gender-equal Europe. The goal is a Union where women and men, girls and boys, in all their diversity, are free to pursue their chosen path in life, have equal opportunities to thrive, and can equally participate in and lead our European society.

Ahead of International Women's Day, the Commission published its 2021 report on gender equality in the EU, that shows the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women. The pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities between women and men in almost all areas of life, both in Europe and beyond, rolling back on the hard-won achievements of past years. At the same time, gender equality has never been so high up on the EU's political agenda.

A gateway to a wealth of data aligned to the three main dimensions of the Gender Equality Strategy.

The European Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM). Latest news, links to documents and videos of meetings

The COVID pandemic has demonstrated the essential nature of care work overwhelmingly carried out by women, says Evelyn Regner, Chair of the FEMM committee. She points out to gender inequalities linked to women’s position in the context of globalised care economy but also in society in general. The latest study examines the gendered nature of the EU care economy, the impact of COVID-19 on care, and the extent to which gender equality and care are considered in the EU’s Recovery Plan.

Découvrez comment la pandémie exacerbe les inégalités existantes entre les genres dans l'Union européenne.

The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) is an EU agency working to make gender equality a reality in the EU and beyond.

Aims to raise awareness about some of the different consequences of the Covid-19 crisis for women and men in Europe. The information draws on research findings and gender statistics. It puts forward ideas for policymakers to ensure that the gender perspective is not forgotten when it comes to making important decisions during and after the pandemic.

Gender-based violence is both a cause and a consequence of gender inequality. Therefore, providing resources to put an end to it is an important part of EIGE work. This section provides research, statistics and expertise to help understand the problem and the way it affects our societies.

Shows gender equality trends every two years.

An online library with 500 000 documents including publications not available in other public libraries.

European foundation for the improvement of living and working conditions. It provides knowledge to assist in the development of better social, employment and work-related policies.

Gender equality is a core value of the EU, a fundamental right, a critical component of economic growth and a key principle of the European Pillar of Social Rights.

Read the latest report, infographic and commentary on how COVID-19 is impacting the EU.