IN WOMEN’S HANDS: Why the Philippine response to the COVID-19 pandemic is wanting

• Main Author: Salcedo, Emily Sanchez
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2020
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/res_cbrd/17; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/res_cbrd/article/1027/viewcontent/DLSU_Notes_and_Briefings_Vol._8_No._1.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

On April 9, 2020, the United Nations released a policy brief calling immediate attention to the exacerbated impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic for women and girls “across every sphere, from health to the economy, security to social protection... simply by virtue of their sex” (UN Women, 2020). From the outset, women are overrepresented in service jobs most severely affected by mass lay-offs as the retail, hospitality, and tourism industries ground to a halt upon the imposition of various forms of community lockdowns. Jobs in the informal economy severely affected by the lack of mobility are also dominated by women who have no access to health insurance, paid leaves, unemployment benefits, and other forms of social protection. While women’s ability to engage in paid work has been reduced, the demand for their unpaid care work at home increased exponentially. Women’s already disproportionate share in domestic duties is further strained when children do not attend schools or cannot be placed in day care facilities. Along the same vein, as hospitals and medical facilities focus their efforts on the treatment of COVID-19 patients, caring for other health issues affecting family members, specially the elderly and those burdened with disabilities, become additional responsibilities for women at home. Meanwhile, women’s unique health needs, such as maternal and reproductive health care, are often overlooked in the face of the pandemic.