Women have borne the brunt of COVID-19 facing job losses as well as cases of domestic abuse, multiple studies have shown.
According to Dr. Lourdesita Sobrevega-Chan, who represents the Philippines in the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC), the pandemic particularly impacted women.
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She said that across Southeast Asia women “are still likely to live in poverty than men,” adding that 58 percent of women still earn less than their male partners. The women with children are worse off and in 2019 maternity cash benefits reached only 33 percent.
A United Nations (UN) policy briefer has said that the impact of COVID-19 in Southeast Asia has been drastic with women and girls generally earning less, holding unsecured jobs as well as living close to poverty.
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The hardest hit were those in the manufacturing, tourism, hospitality, retail, and service industry sectors. An International Labour Organization (ILO) study has also shown that women are overrepresented in more affected sectors or in occupations that are in the front line of dealing with the pandemic. (AW)
