The kids are not all right: Young women and the impacts of COVID-19
Young women have borne more than their share of the hardship created by COVID-19 and the government response. Young women are more likely to be in precarious employment which was not covered by JobKeeper, for example, and are also more likely to be studying, which has not had an adequate federal response to address hardship. Young women are also the group most likely to become infected by COVID-19, and while the reasons why are unclear, it could be because young women are disproportionately exposed to the virus through their work environment – including in such sectors as health care, care work, education and public-facing employment in cafes and restaurants. In today’s analysis, Brianna Delahunty and Emma Riseley, of the Equality Rights Alliance Young Women’s Advisory Group (@ERAAustralia) and supported by the National Foundation for Australian Women Social Policy Committee (@NFAWomen), provide an analysis of how young women are being left out of critically-needed policy responses.
In recent weeks, the Productivity Commission has released a research paper on the decline of young people’s incomes. The research reveals that prior to the pandemic, young people’s average incomes had declined in real terms from 2008 to 2018. The Commission also identified that this negative income growth has been compounded by the effects of the pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic represents a toxic cocktail of economic and financial turbulence, movement restrictions, increased caring responsibilities and existential anxiety which has been almost universally devastating. The pandemic has exacerbated and compounded existing inequalities, including for young Australians.
Early evidence has shown that young women, by way of their age and gender, are among the hardest hit in the pandemic. The drastic narrowing of access to the public sphere has displaced young women from the workplace and reduced their access to crucial health and support services. Couple this with years of Australian budget and policy debate which has largely ignored the needs of young women, and the result is that many young women are in free fall with no safety net. The question is how does public policy during the crisis response and recovery incorporate a gender lens and address the issues young women face, to avoid a spiral of gender inequality that could follow this cohort throughout their lives?
Young women can see the insecurities that older women currently face as a result of inequalities that compound throughout their lives and we are scared. In the wake of a ‘once in a century’ global pandemic that has had severe impacts on young women’s health and economic prospects, what measures will be taken to prevent yet another generation of women experiencing such inequalities?
Economic Insecurity
Despite having consistently higher rates of education, young women are over-represented in precarious and under-paid employment, which has left them more vulnerable to exposure to COVID-19 as well as the negative economic consequences the pandemic has fostered. Photo by Grass America on Unsplash
The COVID-19 crisis has unquestionably devastated the economy, with young people and women bearing the brunt of pandemic related job loss and financial insecurity. Female dominated industries, like healthcare, service, education and childcare, have placed women at the front lines of the crisis, leading to increased stress and significant health risks.
This is a time when young women require increased supports, faced as they are with reduced employment or unemployment. Many are – or were – in casualised employment, or studying and unable to meet the requirements of independence for Youth Allowance, and are now falling through the cracks of current assistance packages.
Under-employment and unemployment can have significant negative impacts on a young person’s mental health and wellbeing, and research shows that people who experience unemployment in their youth have poorer health and employment outcomes in their adulthood. Concerningly, many young women have drained their superannuation savings through the COVID-19 Early Release of Super scheme. Modelling shows that a withdrawal of $10,000 now for a young person means a net loss of $70,000 by 2059 due to the loss of compound interest.
The impacts of the pandemic have combined with and been driven by trends in place before the pandemic, including casualisation of the workforce, high rates of under-employment and unemployment, increase in the gig economy and increasing unpaid internships which have all made it difficult for young women to find steady, secure employment with access to paid leave and superannuation. Often when they do succeed, it is in female-dominated industries which are undervalued and underpaid compared to those that are male-dominated – and suddenly are considered ‘front-line’ work with their attendant health risks. The Productivity Commission’s recent research shows that young people were already feeling the brunt of negative income growth, and we know that women also experience a significant gender pay gap throughout their lives. All in all, young women are being pushed into a deep pattern of financial insecurity that could impact their entire lives.
Mental Health
The pandemic and the measures put in place to stop the spread of the virus have disrupted young women’s lives and routines nearly overnight, which is having significant impacts on their mental health. Even before the pandemic, young women were twice as likely as young men to be experiencing psychological distress and this has left them vulnerable to further mental health shocks. Mental health services including Kids Helpline and Beyond Blue reported increased demand for their support online and over the phone in the early months of the pandemic, though experts also describe the mental fatigue associated with social connection through telehealth or digital platforms. Young people have reported feeling anxious, uncertain and scared about the crisis, and young women highlight specific concerns around their education and the health of their family. Concerningly, these psychological responses to the crisis are likely to last long after the immediate threat of COVID-19 passes.
Violence against Young Women
Violence against women already represents a public health crisis in Australia. Young women in Australia aged 18 to 24 are at the highest risk of experiencing sexual violence, with 1 in 20 women in this age group reporting experiencing sexual assault in the last 12 months. Further, over half of women aged 18-29 years have experienced workplace sexual harassment, and young women have the highest rate of assistance from Specialist Homelessness Services, with domestic, family and sexual violence cited as the main reasons.
As we saw in the recent Australian bushfires, there is often an increase in violence against women during disasters and crises, and the COVID-19 pandemic is no different. 1800 RESPECT reported a 38% increase in the use of its online chat tool between March and April 2020, suggesting that women are asking for more support, particularly during the lockdown period. For young women who are already socially isolated as a result of family and domestic violence, this can mean being trapped in lockdown with their abuser, leading to significant risks to mental, physical and reproductive health and fewer pathways to safety or social support. This is intensified for many groups who experience other forms of discrimination and disadvantage, including young women on temporary visas, LGBTIQ+ young people and women with disability.
Recovery response needs to consider young women
Data is showing that there is a high risk of gender inequality deepening as the COVID-19 crisis exacerbates already existing inequalities for young women - particularly in terms of their health and safety, and long-term economic prospects.
Given this context, the need for a clear and sustained policy response that incorporates a gender perspective is obvious. It is crucial that this response also includes a lens that specifically looks at the immediate needs of young women and considers their longer-term prospects. Shorter term measures like widening the eligibility criteria for financial assistance are welcomed. However, incorporating a gender lens on the recovery response isn’t about any one measure or recommendation; it emphasises a long-term commitment to gender analysis in all policy areas to understand how entrenched inequalities impact young women and, further, a commitment to valuing young women by investing in measures that directly support them. For example, investing in child and aged care; providing paid sick leave and worker protections for casual employees; committing to superannuation for caregivers; delivering a gender equity framework in VET and reform to higher education solutions. And finally, at a general level, the voices and experiences of young women need to be respected and actively amplified - young women need to be invited into the tent.
Without a policy response that incorporates a gender lens and considers young women, the impacts of COVID-19 will be felt for decades to come. The health and financial security of all Australians depends upon it.
This post is part of the Women's Policy Action Tank initiative to analyse government policy using a gendered lens. View our other policy analysis pieces here.
Posted by @SusanMaury