IS THE SHE-CESSION THE NEXT PANDEMIC?

“The South African government recently moved the country back to alert Level 4, a move to curb the spread of infections that have risen consistently each day. In addition, most of South Africa’s COVID-19 socio-economic relief measures have been terminated, despite the ongoing impacts of the pandemic and associated lockdowns. Vulnerable sectors continue to shed jobs, business turnover has decreased, and liquidations have increased. Across communities and households, incomes are declining, increasing hunger and food insecurity,” so says Gugulethu Makhubo, on behalf of the Institute for Economic Justice, in a recent statement.

With women having been the victims of the majority of the job losses in our country, they have been the hardest hit by the pandemic. In the trade industry, 341 000 jobs have gone, while losses in private households have amounted to 189 000 (figures provided by the Institute for Economic Justice). So with many South African women being employed in some of the worst-paid sectors of the labour market, such as domestic, retail and hospitality work, these losses have contributed to an already-dire situation, with women being deprived of even