“SHE-flation”: A look at how the increasing trend in inflation is acutely impacting women

She-flation

There is no doubt that pandemic-driven inflation has had an adverse impact on the purchasing power of households. This is an obvious fact. What might be less obvious is the disproportionate impact that rising fuel and food prices have had on the cost of living of women. Hence the term “she-flation”. Economist Ana Garcia from El Economista, describes it as the differentiated impact of the accelerating trend in the rate of inflation on women?(Garcia, 2022). Before the pandemic, women were already in a precarious position, facing wide gender, wage and wealth gaps.?Research shows that informal?work?is a greater source of employment for?women?than for men at the world level?(92 vs 87 percent) in developed countries?(ILO 2019).?With low-wage jobs, little to no benefits, higher expenses and significantly less access to financial resources, keeping up with rising cost is a challenge. This situation was and has been even more dire for immigrant women and women of color. As a result, this subset of women have been the hardest hit by the sudden and constant upward movement of prices.

Inflation Meets Feminine Care

Also adding to women’s’ burdens is the rising cost of personal-care products such as facial, body and hair care items. In fact, April figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that this category of products has seen its biggest jump since August 2012. However, unlike shampoo and conditioner, it is difficult to cut back on feminine care products such as sanitary napkins, tampons and menstrual cups. According to the US government’s latest producer price index, prices for plastic resins, cotton futures and fluff pulp have jumped by 9.5%, 40% and 25% respectively in the past year. That said, manufacturers have been passing on these increasing costs to the consumer, making it more expensive to have a period. Research shows period poverty exists in both richer and poorer countries and it is defined as the lack of access to sanitary products due to financial constraints. A UNESCO report estimates that one in ten girls in Sub-Saharan Africa misses school during their period?(ActionAid, 2022).??In an effort to shield consumers from rising costs in Barbados, Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced that Value Added Tax (VAT) on selected essential personal care items would be zero-rated from April 01, 2022. Some of the items include, all sanitary towels, tampons, baby diapers, antiperspirants, vitamins and multi-minerals. Prime Minister Mottley highlighted the importance of health and wellness and also noted that this measure was long overdue and critical to protecting people from the cost-of-living increases?(Nation News, 2022). Scotland on the other hand, has gone a step further to become the first country to make period products free for all. The bill was introduced by Labour MSP Monica Lennon, who has been campaigning to end period poverty since 2016?(BBC Scotland News, 2022).

Diaper Inflation

Moms are also feeling the pinch of inflation from the sharp increases in the price of diapers. At the start of the pandemic in 2020 during periods of lockdown, demand dipped, but with mothers heading back out to work, they need to have enough diapers to send their children to day care. With a budget already strained by other costs and expenses, mothers are faced with a particularly tough decision. Struggling to afford diapers could mean missing work and missing work can have a significant negative economic impact on the household, especially if the mother is the sole provider. NielsenIQ, a data firm that tracks consumer prices, reported an increase in the average cost of diapers by almost 22% in the U.S. since 2018?(WBUR, 2022). The alternative is the use of cloth diapers. However, this is only practical if there is access to laundry facilities. Furthermore, in effort to make the supply of diapers last longer, parents may resort to leaving diapers on children longer than recommended, posing potential health risks to the child?(WBUR, 2022). Another concerning issue associated with the struggle to keep up with the increasing price of diapers is the effect this has on moms’ mental health. Researchers from Yale University conducted a study for a pediatrics journal and found that low-income mothers who cannot afford an adequate supply of diapers were more likely to report symptoms of maternal stress and depression?(Hathaway, 2013).

Formula Shortage

While grappling with the surge in fuel, rent and food prices, the sudden spike in the cost of baby diapers was met with a baby formula shortage. Freelance journalist from The Guardian, Eric Berger reports that the problem started because of pandemic-related supply chain issues where there was a lack of workers to process, sell, move and deliver goods to keep up with demand?(The Guardian, 2022). Additionally, according to health and wellness reporter from CNBC, Renee Onque, the crisis was ultimately exacerbated due to one of the U.S.’s biggest infant formula makers recalling products and halting production after bacteria was found at one of its facilities?(CNBC, 2022). This crisis placed a further strain on mothers, who then had to scramble to find solutions such as trying homemade baby formula recipes or trying alternative brands (if available) without knowing how their child would react to them?(CNBC, 2022). Those being impacted on a disproportionate level were not only low-income women and women of color, but also vulnerable mothers who were unable to spend hours searching online or in person and mothers for of medically complex preemies who require specialized nutritional support?(Washington Post, 2022).

Inflation and Mental Health?

Consumers are already feeling anxiety induced by rising prices caused by inflation. However, experts believe that women are feeling it more acutely due to financial inequality, a gender imbalance in household duties, and higher expenses that are exclusively female?(Garcia, 2022). Generally, women do most of the household shopping and as a result, are more sensitive to inflation, says Francesco D’Acunto, a professor of finance at Boston College. “They actually find inflation much more visible. And therefore, they think more about inflation. They actually expect systematically that inflation will be higher,” he said?(D’Acunto, 2022).On the heels of the uncertainty associated with the pandemic, experts say the result could be more mental strain, depression and anxiety. They also acknowledge that the correlation between inflation and mental health is not direct but depends on the individual’s financial situation. For example, if a woman’s income goes mainly towards basic essentials such as food and gas, and her income does not rise along with inflation, this could become a source of chronic stress, anger and other psychological symptoms. Stephanie Pappas, a contributor for Live Science, says yes, there have been previous periods of rising inflation, however this current period is somewhat different with women having to deal with a culmination of stressors, meaning that many of them are already at the end of their ropes?(Pappas, 2022).

Women and Food Insecurity

Food insecurity is defined as a household measure that reflects limited or uncertain access to food?(The Urban Institute, 2022). According to the institute, the surge in inflation will force women to make trade-offs between food and other rising costs such as fuel, rent and utilities. Trade-offs that are facilitated by opting for food of lower nutritional value, lower-cost alternatives and or reducing overall food intake. The likelihood of food insecurity is heightened during the summer break where children’s access to school meals is disrupted. During this time mothers are pressured and find it difficult to provide adequate nutritious food for their families. “Children from these food insecure households are likely to experience adverse outcomes related to health, development and socialization”,?(USDA, 2017). To increase access to food during the summer months, the Barbados Government started a new initiative — The Summer Nutrition Programme (SuN Programme). The aim of the programme is to provide hot healthy meals to all children (not just the most vulnerable) five days a week, along with opportunities for children to engage in fun and exciting learning activities during and after lunch?(Barbados Council for the Disabled, 2022).?School lunch is critical to student health and well-being,?and?Research has found that?school meals help kids learn and engage in the short term, and thrive academically, physically, and emotionally in the long term?(UNICEF, 2021).?Also, among the initiatives aimed at addressing food security concerns, is the partnership between Guyana and Barbados. H.E. Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, describes the initiative as an economic partnership that will seek to provide prosperity and food security to the people of both states, with the hopes that it can be replicated across the region once results of the model are realized. In addition to increasing agricultural production, the Guyana-Barbados partnership, will establish a food terminal in the latter country?(DPI, 2022). This terminal will house a cold storage facility, packaging and processing plants. Within the next six months, seven acres of arable land at Lears, St. Michael, will be transformed into farmland under the Lears Urban Land Lease and Food Security Programme. Ali said “this is the time for forward thinking and the Lears facility will optimize production and increase revenue streams for both countries, therefore creating possibilities that are endless?(Barbados Today, 2022).

What lies ahead?

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reportedly cut its global growth forecast for 2022 from 3.6% (issued in April) to 3.2%, due to risks associated with high inflation and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war materializing. Furthermore, it projects that Global Growth GDP for 2023 will fall from its April estimate of 3.6% to 2.9%, citing the impact of tighter monetary policy?(IMF, 2022). They’ve described the outlook as gloomy and more uncertain, with distorted prices continuing to shrink the pockets of the most vulnerable. The Fund warns that if left unchecked, “high inflation threatens to push the world economy to the brink of recession”. This means that policymakers will have to make taming inflation their top priority through tighter monetary policies, implementing policies that specifically target food and energy prices, all while continuing to mitigate climate change by limiting emissions and raising investments to hasten the green transition.

References

ActionAid. (2022, May 18).?Period poverty: the statistics around the world.?Retrieved from ActionAid: https://www.actionaid.org.uk/blog/2022/05/18/period-poverty-statistics-around-world#footnote5_icpjsek

BBC Scotland News. (2022, August 15).?Period poverty: Scotland first in world to make period products free.?Retrieved from BBC Scotland News: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-51629880

Barbados Council for the Disabled. (2022, July).?Summer Nutrition (SuN) programme for nursery, primary, secondary and special needs children .?Retrieved from Barbados Council for the Disabled: https://barbadosdisabled.org.bb/event-2/summer-nutrition-sun-programme-for-nursery-primary-secondary-and-special-needs-children/

Barbados Today. (2022, May 08).?More land for farming under Lears Project.?Retrieved from Barbados Today: https://barbadostoday.bb/2022/05/28/more-land-for-farming-under-lears-project/

CNBC. (2022, August 02).?The baby formula shortage isn’t over and ending it may ‘take a while’ — here’s a timeline.?Retrieved from CNBC: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/02/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-us-baby-formula-shortage.html

DPI. (2022, May 28).?Guyana/Barbados cooperation, a model for other CARICOM states – President Ali.?Retrieved from Department of Public Information : https://dpi.gov.gy/guyana-barbados-cooperation-a-model-for-other-caricom-states-president-ali/

D’Acunto, F. (2022, April 14).?The she-cession and she-flation are colliding.?Retrieved from Market Place: https://www.marketplace.org/2022/04/14/the-she-cession-and-she-flation-are-colliding/

Garcia, A. K. (2022, March 13).?She-flation: the accelerating trend in the rate of inflation and the impact for women.?Retrieved from The Latin American News: https://latin-american.news/she-flation-the-accelerating-trend-in-the-rate-of-inflation-and-the-impact-for-women/

Hathaway, B. (2013, July 29).?No money for diapers: A depressing reality for poor mothers.?Retrieved from Yale News: https://news.yale.edu/2013/07/29/no-money-diapers-depressing-reality-poor-mothers

ILO. (2019, January).?Women and Men in the Informal Economy: A Statistical Brief.?Retrieved from International Labour Office: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---travail/documents/publication/wcms_711798.pdf

IMF. (2022, July).?World Economic Outlook Update 2022.?Retrieved from International Monetary Fund : https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2022/07/26/world-economic-outlook-update-july-2022

Nation News. (2022, March 15).?VAT removed from care items, health drinks.?Retrieved from Nation News: https://www.nationnews.com/2022/03/15/vat-removed-care-items-health-drinks/

Pappas, S. (2022, February 21).?Why the rise in cost of living today is leading to depression and more.?Retrieved from Live Science: https://www.livescience.com/inflation-mental-health-impact

The Guardian. (2022, May 18).?Why is there a baby formula shortage in the US, and what can parents do??Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/may/18/baby-formula-shortage-why-is-there-none-what-to-do-causes-explained

The Urban Institute. (2022, May 18).?Inflation Could Drive More Families toward Food Insecurity This Summer.?Retrieved from The Urban Institute: https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/inflation-could-drive-more-families-toward-food-insecurity-summer

UNICEF. (2021, January 27).?Nutrition crisis looms as more than 39 billion in-school meals missed since start of pandemic – UNICEF and WFP.?Retrieved from United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund : https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/nutrition-crisis-looms-more-39-billion-school-meals-missed-start-pandemic-unicef-and

USDA. (2017, August 07).?USDA’s National School Lunch Program Reduces Food Insecurity.?Retrieved from USDA Economic Research Service: https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2017/august/usda-s-national-school-lunch-program-reduces-food-insecurity/

WBUR. (2022, June).?As families feel the pinch of inflation, diaper banks see increased need.?Retrieved from WBUR Live; Boston Radio Station : https://www.wbur.org/news/2022/06/01/diaper-banks-inflation-parents-babies-expensive

Washington Post. (2022, May 18).?Formula shortage is worst for low-income families, high-risk infants.?Retrieved from Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/05/18/baby-formula-shortage-impact/