Sexism In The Time Of Corona

Covid-19 lockdown reveals gender inequality in house work, but experts say social isolation is an opportunity to redistribute tasks equitably

- Divya J Shekhar

In his address to the state on March 31, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan observed that “women seem to be doing all the house work during the lockdown. Men should share the work”. As people settle into social isolation routines to control the spread of coronavirus, the gendered division of household work done by men and women exposes an unspoken sexism on women across socioeconomic strata: The lopsided burden of unpaid care work.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2020, India has closed two-thirds of its overall gender gap since 2006, standing at 66.8 percent. But the country ranks poorly at 112 out of 153 countries when it comes to women’s disadvantage compared to men in health, education, economy and politics.