[Reuters]The coronavirus pandemic could wipe out "the modest progress" made on gender equality at work in recent decades with women globally at greater risk of losing their jobs, the International Labour Organization (ILO) warned on Tuesday. The U.N. agency said the fall in global working hours was "significantly worse than previously estimated" in the first half of the year. But it warned women were disproportionately affected, with almost 510 million women, or 40% of all employed women, working in the industries with most job losses compared to 36.6% of men, which includes food and accommodation, retail and real estate. The ILO added that the unequal distribution of unpaid care work has also worsened during the pandemic, exacerbated by the closure of schools and care services. "This crisis therefore threatens to nullify women's gains in the labour market along with the positive (albeit slow) changes in the distribution of unpaid care work."

Source: Standard Digital July 03, 2020 09:45 UTC