British working women at 'coronavirus crossroads'
21 November, 2020
Covid-19 threatens to reverse decades of progress for working women while also leading to a dramatic shift in culture that may help them thrive.
A written report has found British girls are in a "coronavirus crossroads" in the workplace.
The government should lock in the positive changes with a laws requiring virtually all jobs to allow flexible working, said the report, which was issued on Britain's Equal PAYDAY - the date which the gender pay gap means women effectively start working for free until the year-end.
"Through the entire last century, crises comparable to the pandemic have already been forks in the road of record," said Sam Smethers, leader of the Fawcett Culture, a respected women's rights group which issued the report.
"The coronavirus crisis puts us at a crossroads once again, and it is apparent that this pertains to the gender fork out gap."
Covid-19 offers disproportionately hit women's careers, with studies finding they are more likely to work in sectors badly influenced by the pandemic, plus they are picking right up a heavier load of unpaid childcare and chores than men.
Britain's gender gap found in hourly pay narrowed to 11.5% in 2020 from 13.1% in 2019, in line with the latest data, though the Fawcett Society said the figures usually do not reflect the fact that many women had cut their time to accomplish childcare during lockdown.
While the pandemic poses serious threats to women's place of work equality, the dramatic climb in home-functioning and flexible arrangements could benefit mothers who often battle to combine do the job and childcare, Friday's record said.
Additionally, there are signs of progress in data showing that fathers doubled the volume of time they spent doing childcare under lockdown, though women were still doing more.
However, the report warned that ladies would just benefit if the federal government takes guidelines to cement in the positive changes and protect female workers from discrimination.
Meanwhile, UK financing minister Rishi Sunak ideas to announce a squeeze on public sector pay out to help bring authorities spending under control.
A three-year pay out freeze could preserve the federal government £23bn by 2023, or perhaps £15bn if National Health Service workers aren't included, according to a written report from the Centre for Policy Studies.
The Adolescent Women's Trust, a feminist organisation, needed action in response to the pandemic, including launching a state jobs and training programme for young women and requiring employers to publish redundancy info by gender.
Women's rights group Equality Today backed the demands change, adding that dark-colored and additional ethnic minority females were also being strike hard by the pandemic's monetary fallout.
"Covid has shone a spotlight in equality disparities," stated Alexandra Patsalides, a legal professional at the group.
"Now is the time for the government, policymakers and employers to seriously revolutionise their plans and mechanisms so as to ensure greater prospects and support to ladies from all backgrounds."
Source: www.thenationalnews.com
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