Women being disproportionately impacted by coronavirus

[QuentinWinters]

Just posted this on another thread, but it's such an interesting article I feel it deserves its own thread.

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/jun/23/the-coronavirus-backlash-how-the-pandemic-is-destroying-womens-rights

Coronavirus could trigger a return to the 1950s for many women.

[CaraDune]

This article from last month was also good (in a depressing way).
www.theguardian.com/education/2020/may/12/womens-research-plummets-during-lockdown-but-articles-from-men-increase

Yes, it's horrifying. It's really going to hammer women very badly. The number of women (myself included) who I know who're saying "I'm doing both homeschooling and WFH badly because there just aren't enough hours in the day" and who are worried that when the firms they work for make cutbacks next year they'll be clearly marked down as the people who didn't pull their weight while WFH and will be first out the door.

This article's got facts and figures on precise percentages:
www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/women-bear-brunt-of-coronavirus-economic-shutdown-in-uk-and-us

(I'm kind of disappointed with the Guardian's coverage overall though - the Telegraph was onto this much earlier and has been running a series of articles on it, as well as running their "Pregnant then screwed" campaign. I have to say the last few years have really made me, as a life-long lefty and Labour voter, think long and hard about who really has women's interests at heart).

[QuentinWinters]

I can't bring myself to read the telegraph after their Johnson cheerleading.....

I'm meant to be in a daylong workshop via video conference today, while simultaneously parenting 3 children. Am absolutely sick of it.

[CaraDune]

I started reading it in a "know your enemy" sort of way. The Boris-graph element of it is nauseating, I agree. Though interestingly, they have become a lot less pro-Boris since he totally and utterly fucked up his handling of covid. Even the Torygraph couldn't forgive that.

for the video conference. It's just not going to work is it?

[endofthelinefinally]

Now that any man can identify as a woman in Scotland, (and count as a woman for equality purposes) I think an awful lot of biological women are going to find themselves redundant and, if they are of child bearing age, unemployable.

[Dicotyledon]

Got an advert popped up on this page for something that looks suspiciously like skin-lightening cream@mnhq?

[BarbieandKenBruce]

Although they talked about post-natal depression and childcare I'm not sure they covered pregnancy enough in depth. It classes you as 'vulnerable' which changes your ability to fulfil work duties, if you're paid less because of this in your qualifying period it affects your whole mat pay. You're really vulnerable to redundancy and the 'back to basics' changes in maternity care is just not safe enough in my opinion. The financial security and health of women and their unborn children is particularly at risk. These are all specific challenges men just don't face.

[QuentinWinters]

Yes I agree. Pregnant women and new mothers must be really suffering, plus at increased risk from lots of pregnancy related conditions, due to less face to face monitoring.

I had pnd after my second child and hate to think what could have happened if I'd had no face to face monitoring from my health visitor. She was brilliant.

Plus are women getting the right monitoring in pregnancy? And don't get me started on people not being able to be with their labouring partners.

It really bugs me that the news is full of pubs reopening etc when the fundamentals that would help people live much better lives are being ignored. To the detriment of women over men. When are we going to be able to visit close family/friends at home for support including childcare? Why can I visit a pub but not my parents? Its crazy

[BarbieandKenBruce]

I'm sorry about your PND and glad you had a good Health Visitor who was there for you.

I don't think women are getting the right monitoring in pregnancy.

I'd also love to know a breakdown of shielding/vulnerable people by sex. Autoimmune conditions where you're usually on immunosuppressants and things like that are much more common in women.
Also more elderly people are women, and if you have a shielding child/adult I'm sure it's more likely to be a woman that shields with them to provide care. These are people that can't participate in the world as they need to now.
Also I know 'keyworker' is a really broad term but I think something like 85% of NHS staff are women (not all front line) and sure it will be higher in the care sector. It's like women are helping to keep everything going and also bearing the brunt.
I'm sure lots would rather be able to access childcare or have their partner at their ultrasound scan than go to the pub