Care in Latin America and the Caribbean during the COVID-19
Towards comprehensive systems to strengthen response and recovery Alicia Bรกrcena
Executive Secretary Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
19 August 2020
Messages 1. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the worse economic contraction of the last 100 years. 2. Women will be disproportionately affected by the higher unemployment and poverty rates and burden of care, especially in households in the lowest income quintiles. 3. Governments are taking steps to respond to the care crisis exacerbated by the pandemic, but challenges remain. 4. The care economy is key to a sustainable economic recovery and a fiscal pact, with a focus on women, will be required to direct resources to investment, job creation, and digital and financial inclusion. 5. The Santiago Commitment serves as a guide to promote mitigation and reactivation strategies from a gender perspective at the regional level. Cuidados en AmĂŠrica Latina y el Caribe en tiempos de COVID-19: Hacia Sistemas Integrales para fortalecer la respuesta y la recuperaciĂłn
The COVID-19 pandemic is worsening structural challenges to gender equality and curbing women’s autonomy • The worst crisis in history. In 2020, regional GDP will fall by -9.1%
Women overrepresented in the first line healthAumento de care response Women carga de employed in cuidados en los higher risk hogares sectors
Loss of income for women working in informal jobs and MSMEs
• Trade in Latin America and the Caribbean will shrink by almost a quarter in 2020 (-23.9%)
Increase in poverty
• Unemployment will reach 13.5%, with 44 million unemployed: increasing the risk of labour market segmentation, precariousness and polarization
The digital and financial divides limit women's access to mitigation measures
• Some 2.7 million formal companies have closed Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Sexual division of labour
Socioeconomic inequality and poverty
The COVID19 crisis is worsening structural challenges
Patriarchal cultural patterns
Concentration of power
Women’s participation in decision-making to tackle the pandemic is limited and restricted to lower levels of responsibility
Women living in situations of violence at greater risk
The poverty rate among women is expected to increase to 37.4%, a year-on-year increase of 22% LATIN AMERICA (WEIGHTED AVERAGE OF 18 COUNTRIES): POVERTY AND EXTREME POVERTY RATE AND FEMINITY INDEX OF POVERTY, 2001–2020 (Percentages)
Some 118
million
women in the region will fall into poverty
Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, on the basis of the Household Survey Data Bank (BADEHOG).
Cuidados en América Latina y el Caribe en tiempos de COVID-19: Hacia Sistemas Integrales para fortalecer la respuesta y la recuperación
Female unemployment rate forecast to reach 15.2% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (WEIGHTED AVERAGE OF 24 COUNTRIES): LABOUR MARKET PARTICIPATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATES, BY GENDER, 2008–2020 (Percentages)
Increase of almost 6 percentage points in the unemployment rate compared to 2019
Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)/International Labour Organization (ILO), “Work in times of pandemic: the challenges of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)”, Employment Situation in Latin America and the Caribbean, No. 22 (LC/TS.2020/46), Santiago, 2020 and Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), on the basis of official figures. a Preliminary figures b Projections
Cuidados en América Latina y el Caribe en tiempos de COVID-19: Hacia Sistemas Integrales para fortalecer la respuesta y la recuperación
More than half of women are employed in sectors facing the greatest risk of economic contraction LATIN AMERICA (WEIGHTED AVERAGE OF 16 COUNTRIES): DISTRIBUTION OF EMPLOYED POPULATION BY ECONOMIC RISK AND GENDER, MOST RECENT YEAR FOR WHICH DATA ARE AVAILABLE (Percentages)
Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), on the basis of information from the Household Survey Data Bank (BADEHOG) (for South America, Mexico and Central America), and International Labour Organization (ILO), ILOSTAT [online database] https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/ (for Caribbean countries).
Cuidados en América Latina y el Caribe en tiempos de COVID-19: Hacia Sistemas Integrales para fortalecer la respuesta y la recuperación
Before the pandemic, the demographic transition already posed a challenge to the social organization of care in the region LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (38 COUNTRIES): DISTRIBUTION OF THE POPULATION BY AGE AND GENDER, 2020 AND 2050. (Thousands of people) 100+ 95-99 90-94 85-89 80-84 75-79 70-74 65-69 60-64 55-59 50-54 45-49 40-44 35-39 30-34 25-29 20-24 15-19 10-14 5-9 0-4 30,000
Ageing in the region: Argentina, Chile, Cuba and Uruguay are at an advanced stage
2050 2020
20,000
10,000
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
End of demographic dividend: 2020–2025: the dependent population will grow more than the working age population.
Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), on the basis of United Nations, World Population Prospects 2019 [online database] https:// population.un.org/wpp/
Cuidados en América Latina y el Caribe en tiempos de COVID-19: Hacia Sistemas Integrales para fortalecer la respuesta y la recuperación
The burden of unpaid work, which falls mainly on women, is an obstacle to their autonomy LATIN AMERICA (18 COUNTRIES): TIME SPENT ON UNPAID DOMESTIC AND CARE WORK, BY GENDER, MOST RECENT YEAR FOR WHICH DATA ARE AVAILABLE (Percentages)
In the region, women spend more than three times as many hours on unpaid care and domestic work than men. 2030 Agenda: “Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family”
Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), on the basis of Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean, Repository on time use in Latin America and the Caribbean [online] https://oig.cepal.org/en/infographics/repository-information-time-use-latin-americaand-Caribbean.
Women in poor households bear the heaviest burden of unpaid care LATIN AMERICA (6 COUNTRIES): UNPAID WORKING TIME OF THE POPULATION AGED 15 OR OVER, BY INCOME QUINTILE AND SEX (Hours per week)
Women in the lowest income quintile devote about 39% more hours per week to unpaid work than those in the highest quintile
Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), on the basis of Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean, Repository of information on time use in Latin America and the Caribbean [online] https://oig.cepal.org/en/infographics/repository-information-time-use-latin-americaand-caribbean.
Cuidados en América Latina y el Caribe en tiempos de COVID-19: Hacia Sistemas Integrales para fortalecer la respuesta y la recuperación
What do we mean when we talk about care?
Recognize Highlight and revalue care work as a key job for the wellbeing of societies and for the functioning of the economy
Redistribute
Reduce
Distribute unpaid care work, domestic responsibilities and the exercise of responsible parenting in a fairer and more balanced way
Reduce the burden of unpaid work taking a rights-based approach and guided by the principles of equality, universality and solidarity.
Cuidados en AmĂŠrica Latina y el Caribe en tiempos de COVID-19: Hacia Sistemas Integrales para fortalecer la respuesta y la recuperaciĂłn
Gender Types of measures taken to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in the areas of women's rights and gender equality Benefits, transfers and other social protection measures
Women’s participation in the digital age
Gender-based violence against women
Care economy
Gender equity measures Other
Employment and income generation
•Travel permits in order to provide care • Domestic workers' rights •Sick leave for care providers •Campaigns on the shared responsibility for care in the home •Measures aimed at dependent persons and their carers
Cuidados en América Latina y el Caribe en tiempos de COVID-19: Hacia Sistemas Integrales para fortalecer la respuesta y la recuperación
Government initiatives to address the care crisis in response to the pandemic ARGENTINA Right to a leave of absence established for one parent or guardian per household during the suspension of school classes
MEXICO Campaigns to prevent an excessive burden of care for women as a result of COVID-19 and “Hombres en sana convivencia: en esta contingencia, cuidar hace la diferencia” campaign to encourage men’s greater participation in care work.
CHILE Law on Employment Protection establishes that domestic workers who contribute to the pension system will be able to withdraw a portion of their compensation accounts´ cash, as they do not have unemployment insurance.
COSTA RICA Strengthening of the National Network of Childhood Care and Development to avoid the care of children falling on older or at-risk persons
URUGUAY Reinforcement of transfer programmes, such as the Uruguay Social Card, and allowances for dependent children
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Introduction of “pandemic leave” and incentives to implement teleworking arrangements for working parents without access to a support system to care for their children during the closure of schools.
Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), on the basis of data from COVID-19 Observatory in Latin America and the Caribbean: Economic and social impact [online] https://www.cepal.org/en/topics/covid-19.
The Santiago Commitment as a guide for policies to promote a sustainable return to growth with care at its centre
The Santiago Commitment as a guide for policies to promote a sustainable return to growth
Expansionary macroeconomic policies
• Implement gender-sensitive, countercyclical policies, to mitigate the impact of economic crises and recessions on women’s lives
The care economy • Promote the care economy to stimulate economies • Design comprehensive care systems, with a gender perspective
Trade • Pursue programmes to promote the creation of good quality jobs for women and female entrepreneurship in international trade, and gender-impact assessments of trade and investment policies Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) • Foster women’s participation in STEM employment, eliminating occupational segregation and guaranteeing decent work and equal pay Cuidados en América Latina y el Caribe en tiempos de COVID-19: Hacia Sistemas Integrales para fortalecer la respuesta y la recuperación
Overcoming the four structural challenges of inequality and bolstering the three autonomies of women From socioeconomic inequality and exclusionary growth
To development patterns that safeguard women’s substantive equality
From a rigid sexual division of labour and unfair social organization of care
To a redistribution of time, work and opportunities
From patriarchal, discriminatory and violent cultural patterns and a prevalence of the culture of privilege
To a culture of rights and equality
From a concentration of power
To parity-based democracy
Cuidados en América Latina y el Caribe en tiempos de COVID-19: Hacia Sistemas Integrales para fortalecer la respuesta y la recuperación
Towards a sustainable return to growth that safeguards women’s rights and promotes gender equality 1. Pursue a fiscal and gender pact to mitigate the crisis and promote a sustainable and fair recovery. 2. Strengthen financing of policies for women during the pandemic: comprehensive services for victims of gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health services, and care services, as well as an emergency basic income for women living in poverty. 3. Invest in the care economy as a driver of an economic recovery with equality, including formalization, remuneration and social security for all workers. 4. Redistribute care responsibilities, move forward with the transformation of labour markets and achieve greater co-responsibility among the State, households, the market and communities. 5. Expand coverage of employment and social protection programmes, to safeguard the rights of migrant, Afrodescendent and indigenous women, women from rural and grass-roots communities, and women with disabilities.
Cuidados en AmĂŠrica Latina y el Caribe en tiempos de COVID-19: Hacia Sistemas Integrales para fortalecer la respuesta y la recuperaciĂłn