The COVID pandemic has adversely affected the employment figures in India since 2020. The uninterrupted rise in the Corona Virus cases all over the world has robbed many people of their means of livelihood.
The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, CEO, Mr. Mahesh Vyas states that more than 10 million people lost their jobs during the pandemic.
The pandemic mostly affected the urban working women in the public sector, professional jobs and, entrepreneurs. A survey was conducted all over India for women of the age group ranging 20-60 years. The study examined the change in the income levels, workload, employment opportunities and, job losses due to the pandemic.
The major findings of the study were that women were demanded to shift from full-time to part-time shifts. Also, the income gradually decreased for the part-time working women. Millions of women were supporting themselves before the unemployment rates skyrocketed and jobs disappeared.
The workload has been shooting up to the highest limits. The limited workers are subjected to overburden themselves. The study also stated that the women working more than 10 hours a day or women working with no fixed timings have risen visibly.
Around 40% of the women protest against an adverse change in income after the pandemic. The effect is being felt by catching sight of a reduction in salary or perquisites.
Riya Akter, who is 22 years in age, when asked, if she was scared of getting infected says, work comes first and it is needed to be done to get food on the table.
A report from the Ministry of Statistics stated that the Indian female labor rate dropped to 15.5% in April 2020. Also according to a government survey, the labor rate further dropped to 16.1% in July 2020. One out of two, the former being mostly women, have low incomes. More than half of the people surveyed stated that they temporarily stopped working at their jobs.
According to Latha Ramanathan, CEO of Economix Consulting Group “Many women have reported about being disproportionately affected due to the crisis, on income”.
She also goes on stating “working hours and workload had increased visibly and women have reported complaints that they are working 7 days a week. Also, there is a decrease in income which is causing distress to workers.
The COVID is likely to have a long-lasting impact on the employment sector in India, especially for working women. There has been a devastating effect on the unemployment rate in India. The normalcy may not come very soon because the rising of coronavirus cases might bring the third peak of the pandemic.
Follow and connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn&Twitter
