The serious impacts of the pandemic on gender inequalities in the region

We believe it is necessary to bring into the public debate the impacts that the pandemic has on gender inequalities and care in our region

We believe this moment highlights the importance of care work in our societies, as well as its true value in sustaining life. The crisis makes it clear that care is the foundation or support of economic activity and, more broadly, of the sustainability of life in our societies. In emergency situations, what is usually invisible and undervalued becomes explicitly evident.

The crisis, in turn, shows us how the negative impact of naturalizing care as a female responsibility becomes more intense and reveals new ways in which the sexual division of labor affects women's lives.

The serious impacts of this situation on women and their relationship with care in our region are very profound: those who are more exposed to illness because they dedicate themselves to health care, those who are overburdened by the care that must now be given within the home, those who lose their paid jobs in domestic and care services, among other effects.

With this statement, we want to share our concerns that require collective solutions.

1. More than half of working women in Latin America and the Caribbean are informal, temporary, or in very low-quality employment. They are more vulnerable to losing their income during this pandemic as a result of preventive social isolation measures and the total or partial suspension of economic activities.
2. In addition, many of these women have no one to leave their children with or lack institutional support, due to the closure of educational and care establishments, or the impossibility of resorting to family networks in a context of social isolation.
3. The global pandemic is having a particularly significant impact on the situation of migrant care workers. Many domestic workers who travel along migration routes in the region may have lost their jobs. Similarly, paid caregivers working in Europe, especially in Spain and Italy, may become unemployed, fall ill, or be forced to return to their countries of origin without any safety net or income.
4. The idealization and romanticization of “staying at home” fails to consider the demands, stress, and burden of care work placed on women who are required to meet the needs of children, elderly relatives, and other dependents at home. Except in Argentina, no specific care support policies have been defined for working women who, in this context of “quarantine,” have been left to care for dependents and children in their households. The implementation of similar measures in all countries of the region is crucial.
5. The option of teleworking, which has been used in many cases, also increases the pressure on women's time, as they must simultaneously attend to work and caregiving responsibilities in their homes.
6. The isolation and home treatment of those infected with less severe cases of COVID-19 is being handled primarily by women, increasing their risk of infection. These women are also responsible for caring for those with chronic illnesses—generally elderly individuals—whose cases can worsen or become complicated due to mobility restrictions and limited access to healthcare and medication.
7. The healthcare workforce comprises a multitude of feminized professions and jobs (nurses, nursing assistants, therapists, bacteriologists, cleaning staff). Women represent more than 80% of the sector's workers. Most of them hold precarious jobs with low wages and are on the front lines of care. As has been reported in many countries in the region and around the world, these workers lack the necessary personal protective equipment to care for the growing number of sick and infected individuals, posing a risk to their own health, the health of their patients, communities, and families.
8. The public policy response to the situation created by the pandemic and the health measures taken to address it is key to managing the aforementioned tensions. The State is now more than ever responsible for guaranteeing the rights of its citizens (to health, care, and basic living conditions). Assuming this responsibility with political will, and creating progressive mechanisms to finance the interventions that are decided upon, can also provide a solid foundation upon which to build a post-pandemic scenario with greater equality and parity.
9. We are particularly concerned about the limited or nonexistent representation of women on expert committees tasked with advising governments on post-pandemic planning. We believe that women's inclusion on these committees should be ensured and that caregiving must be a central theme in the planning process.

This statement expresses the position of the Care and Gender Working Group and not necessarily that of the centers and institutions that make up the CLACSO international network, its Steering Committee or its Executive Secretariat.

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