The pandemic has affected everyone – but it hasn’t affected everyone equally. Women all over the world have been disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus – they are more likely to have extensive caring responsibilities, more likely to lose their jobs or have their pay cut, and more likely to feel overwhelmed, stressed or anxious.
Facebook is releasing two reports that speak to the ways in which COVID-19 is impacting gender equality and economic security.
Global State of Small Business, Wave 4
A research survey in collaboration with the OECD and the World Bank to provide monthly updates on how small businesses are doing during the global pandemic. In the United States:
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- 27% of female owners and managers of operational SMBs in August (vs. 14% of male owners and managers of operational SMBs) on Facebook reported that they were spending 6+ hours per day on domestic tasks and family care.
- 52% of operational female-led SMBs in August (vs. 34% of operational male-led SMBs) on Facebook reported 25% or more of their sales were made digitally in the past month.
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Huge gender gaps at home and in business – as well as in access to education, healthcare, technology and much else – have been a bitter truth for as long as anyone can remember, so it should come as no surprise that they should exist now.
But to tackle the problem of gender inequality, you need to understand it – and for too long there has simply been too little data available. We hope these reports, and others like them, start to fill in the blanks so that meaningful action can be taken to address the imbalances in our societies.
You can read the full report here.
Deloitte Report on Small Business Digital Strategies
Based on a survey of more than 4,300 SMB owners and senior managers across 17 markets
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- Younger and female business leaders were more likely to adopt or increase their usage of digital tools.
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