Women’s work: the impact of the COVID crisis on Australian women
Danielle Wood
Abstract
The [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 recession was Australia's deepest since the Great Depression. This report argues that, while all Australians felt some effects, the economic pain was not shared equally. This recession hit young people, those in insecure work, and women particularly hard. Indeed, women are recovering from a 'triple-whammy' - they were more likely to lose their jobs, more likely to do a lot more unpaid work, and less likely to get government support. Women's employment improved as the economy re-opened, but many groups have not caught up, and on current forecasts, unemployment will remain too high for too long. Mothers in couples, and single parents (80 per cent of whom are women), were more likely to leave the labour force than other groups. Women of childbearing age also gave up study in record numbers. For single parents, paid hours remain substantially below pre-pandemic levels.