Covid-19 and Its Impact

Since the lockdown started, I have been spending quite a lot of time reading, researching and thinking about COVID-19 and its impact on various types of people- corporate working-class, policymakers, police, medical practitioners, taxi and truck drivers, store clerks, warehouse and factory workers, domestic workers, homeless children, transgenders and sex-workers to name a few. 

I see the biggest impact of COVID-19 apart from the economic downturn and changing work environment would be on the traditional roles of gender. A medical crisis like this emphasizes and exacerbates inequalities of all kinds, and gender is only one of them. 

Let’s look at some data related to the proportion of average time spent on unpaid work by both the genders-

• The average time spent in unpaid work as reported by Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) by men globally is approx. 2 hours per day vs. 4 hours per day by women.
• In India, it becomes murky- wherein men spend about less than an hour per day doing unpaid work, women spend 6 times more- almost 6 hours per day for unpaid work. 

It’s a known fact that women worldwide spend more time doing unpaid work as compared to men. What has changed due to the COVID situation is that men are more involved in household chores as compared to earlier. Unfortunately, the situation has become only marginally better in terms of the male contribution to the household. While women could go to work earlier and have a meaningful connection outside the home, it is no longer possible to do so. Moreover, the lines between work and home have blurred and they are struggling to compartmentalize work and home. Having said that I also acknowledge that the separation between work and home has gone away for men too. This means in simple words- there is a possibility of change.  

So thinking of the situation got me to the metaphor of the churning of the ocean from Indian Mythology- while there was a lot of struggle and pain involved, it also resulted in getting the pot of nectar. Similarly, COVID-19 presents a pot of nectar- a perfect opportunity to make systemic changes both at the government level as well as the corporate level. The global work from home mandate has opened up space to have conservations that women need to do their jobs better. Fortunately, many workplaces are recognizing the need to provide psychological safety to women to be able to talk about their needs and expectations without being judged. 

I also see this as a personal opportunity for women and will speak from the perspective of being one. Forever women have felt a need to explain ourselves for our needs and behavior. I am hoping that women will now be able to find their voice and express their needs without being apologetic about it. We do not need to be an ideal worker/ ideal partner and parent all the time. It’s time for self-care and self-compassion. It’s time to lower our expectations of ourselves and accept how we are and show up as we are without the fear of being called fuzzy and wooly. Personally, I have have had break-downs before and during this situation. I have always felt ashamed of it because I felt less than perfect during all such situations. I have felt the need to appear strong and unaffected while all I wanted to do was to curl up and cry. What COVID-19 has gifted me is a shift in my own priorities and perspective. Today, I make myself and my well-being a priority without being apologetic about it. I am also willing to accept myself for who I am instead of constantly thinking about who I need to be. I believe it’s ok to not be ok and I promise to show up- irrespective of how I am. 

The author is a Leadership Coach and Facilitator expressing her perspective on changing roles of gender due to the COVID situation across the globe. Please leave comments on the article to share your thoughts and feelings on the same.