IMF warns Economic gender gap to widen

WASHINGTON:

The coronavirus pandemic could jeopardise progress made by women over the last three decades in narrowing the economic gap between themselves and their male counterparts, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday. The health crisis, which will lead to a 4.9% contraction in global GDP, affects women more than men because they hold more jobs in the hardest-hit sectors, such as the service industry, retail and hotels. In the United States, about 54% of women work in sectors where they cannot telework. In Brazil, 67% of women are unable to work remotely. The IMF pointed out that women are also disadvantaged by the fact that they tend to do more unpaid domestic work - on average about 2.7 hours per week. “They essentially take on the family responsibilities that come with confinement, such as closing down schools,” the IMF said in its blog.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 22^nd, 2020.

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