Study reveals economic challenges for women exiting labour market amid COVID-19

AMMAN — Arecent local study has revealed that 54.1 per cent of women who left the labour market during the COVID-19 pandemic received a monthly wage equal to JD250 or lower, although the minimum wage is JD260 per month.

The study is titled “Women’s Withdrawal from the Labour Market, Sexual and Reproductive Health, in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic”. 

It features the results of a field survey conducted during the first six months of 2022, with the participation of a representative sample of women who left the labour market during the pandemic from various governorates in Jordan. 

Its findings were revealed on Monday during a launch event organised by the National Population Council (NPC) and Share-Net Jordan, a knowledge hub focused on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Reproductive Rights (SRH & RR).

The study showed that 71.5 per cent of women who left the labour market in Jordan during the pandemic were married. Moreover, 50 per cent of those with children did not report facing difficulties related to childcare, while 35 per cent said that they faced “great difficulties”.

The availability of daycares at or near institutions employing women is “evidently” low, according to the study. It revealed that 90 per cent of the survey respondents said that there were no daycares available at their workplace. 

The study also stated that 58 per cent of surveyed women relied on public transportation means to get to work, while 11.7 per cent used a private car. 

Moreover, 10.3 per cent of respondents worked in the public sector, compared with 78.3 per cent who were employed in the private sector, the study showed.

It added that 46.9 per cent of respondents said that their decision to leave work was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Moreover, 32 per cent of them said that they underwent certain “pressures” to leave work, including pay reductions in 43.9 per cent of cases, and temporary dismissal from work in 42.1 per cent of cases.

The Jordan Times discussed the findings of the study with Mary Kawar, an economic expert, who had served as the director of the International Labour organisation in East Africa, and was the Jordanian minister for Planning and International Cooperation.

Aside from the absence of family-friendly policies at the enterprise-level, women’s withdrawal from the labour market in Jordan is related to the generally low level of wages, she said.

Kawar explained that this causes the value of work for women to “easily decline” when faced with challenges, such as the pandemic, expensive childcare, and the lack of safe and reliable public transport means.

When women do a “cost-benefit analysis”, factoring in these obstacles, they easily end up leaving their jobs, she noted. 

Kawar also pointed out that these challenges “unfortunately” have a disproportionate impact on women who work in low-skill, low-paid jobs.

She added that the economic prospects of women can be curtailed by prevailing social and cultural norms, which force them to carry the weight of household and familial responsibilities.