Women in the Pandemic

Women in the Pandemic – how Covid impacted gender Notes & Justice What is gender justice anyway? ensuring fairness & equality in the distribution of benefits & responsibilities between women & men united nations sustainable development goal (no. 5) a fundamental value of the EU guaranteed in many constitutions Why is a gender-equal society important? better health in general & of children, smaller health gender gap generally improved life chances, improved income & political participation of women increases economic management, increases corporate profits & GDP higher social well-being, better cohesion, happier families satisfied individuals, reduced mental health problems of men & women better governance, reduces corruption, increases citizen satisfaction with democracy & the legitimacy of the political system Example: gender justice in politics basic democratic idea justice symbolic effect of institutions higher satisfaction with democracy larger & more diverse candidate pool less corruption thematic/policy priorities / policies benefit from a gender perspective health: provision of medical care safety: prevention of gender-based violence, etc. education: access to education economy: property rights, labour rights (parental leave, etc.) Gender justice in danger? continuous progress, but also regressions, e.g. Anti-gender backlash debate on trans rights & trans activism women's reproductive rights, e.g. in Poland & in USA abolition of gender studies in Hungary social trends like tradwives & incels Corona pandemic higher workload in traditional "women's professions" unequal distribution of care work & emotional work regression in gender role images stress -> burnout mental health + well-being political equality > return to the traditional division of labour among heterosexual couples - increase in care work / housework - reduction of paid work - childcare concerns - parental burnout - conflicts between work + family global impact on gender justice > the Global Gender Gap Report 2019 predicted a duration of... - 12 years until gender equality in education - 257 years until gender equality in labour market - 95 years until gender equality in politics - 108 years until gender justice as a whole -... is achieved > covid has partially reversed this progress - covid as paralysis in the struggle for gender justice > the Global Gender Gap Report 2021 predicts a duration of... - 14 years to gender equality in education (+2y) - 264 years until gender equality in labour market (+7y) - 145 years until gender equality in politics (+50y) - 136 years to total gender equality (+18y) - ... is achieved Effects on gender role attitudes > what about attitudes towards gender roles? - little empirical research so far - effects of job loss -> USA, Germany, Singapore - changes in individual conformity to traditional gender roles -> confirmation of gender stereotypes - -> USA - changes in gender role attitudes only among men, especially among fathers -> Germany - changes in gender role attitudes especially among men, especially fathers + economically insecure couples -> France attitudes towards equality before the pandemic gender role attitudes before the pandemic Research results – women consistently conservative gender role attitudes than men, but change in attitudes from 2020 to 2021 (more conservative) more pronounced among women mothers became more conservative on the whole (but only if they did not stay at home or childcare) switch to telework -> gender role attitudes will become more egalitarian from 2010 to 2021 childcare -> more conservative attitudes to gender roles from 2010 to 2021 Research results – men fathers became more conservative on the whole (but only if they did not stay at home or childcare) switch to teleworking -> more conservative attitudes towards gender role from 2010 to 2021 childcare -> gender role attitudes will become more egalitarian between 2010 to 2021 Anti-Gender backlash 1980s: introduction of the term "gender" into international Human Rights Law -> e.g. Third World conference on Human Rights not well received by various religious groups -> responded with anti-gender campaign anti-gender discourse initially represented by non-state actors -> remained "limited to international human rights forums" 2010s: also other actors, e.g. radical right populist parties (RPPPs) in their election campaigns + in their periods of government Push Back Lash anti-gender backlash + democratic pushback 5 goals: theory of democracy from an intersectional, feminist perspective understand gender -positive discourse strategies + backlash tactics + assess their impact identify the best strategies to counteract anti-gender discourses + strengthen democratic values + practices, taking into account the role of political parties, social media + public opinion developing solutions, policy recommendations + context -sensitive tools for creating democratic spaces from an intersectional perspective jointly creating + disseminating knowledge for gender equality funded by European Commission in the framework of the Horizon Europe Programme 14 project partners from 9 countries coordination plus