Surveys show the impact Covid is having on women in business
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Restrictions introduced to curb the spread of Covid-19 have heightened several pre-existing obstacles for female businesswomen, according to new surveys from Chambers Ireland and Network Ireland.
More than half (57%) of Irish female entrepreneurs surveyed by Chambers Ireland said remote working made it more difficult to carry out their caring and home duties, compared to 46% of their European counterparts. Just over half (52%) of Irish respondents also said the pandemic has had “a strong to severe” impact on their work/life balance.
Commenting on the results of the survey, Chambers Ireland Chief Executive Ian Talbot called for a national strategy on flexible working and more measures to support greater parenting equality.
“Throughout the last year, research has indicated that the impact of the pandemic has been felt more strongly by women. This includes part-time workers who have lost their jobs to frontline workers in health and essential services. We are also conscious that increasing amounts of data is pointing to the fact that the work-life balance of women in the workplace has been negatively impacted.”
Mr Talbot said it must be ensured that the long-term impact of the pandemic does not result in “a permanently wider gender pay gap."
A separate study, released by Network Ireland shows two-thirds (66%) of women feel the pandemic has slowed Ireland’s progress towards gender equality while four out of five say women have been disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 environment.
President of Network Ireland Dr Aisling O’Neill says it’s clear women feel gender equality has slipped off the agenda in recent months. “What we need now is to see a push to reassure women that their concerns are heard and addressed as the country and economy look to recover from a traumatic experience”.