Business
Women’s increasing vulnerability and COVID-19
Sri Lanka’s Gender-based Employment Segregation
By Sunimalee Madurawala
Although COVID-19 may be gender-blind, it has created a crisis that has disproportionately affected women across the globe. The economic impact of the pandemic is mostly channelled through the labour market. Estimates show that women’s jobs are 1.8 times more vulnerable than men’s jobs, and while women make up 39% of global employment, they account for 54% of overall job losses. While many factors affect the vulnerability of women’s employment during the pandemic, existing gender gaps in the labour market, women’s employment share in highly-affected sectors, the ability to telecommute and the amount of unpaid care work carried out by women have been identified as the main determinants. In this context, this blog examines women’s vulnerability in the Sri Lankan labour market due to the sector they are employed in. It also looks at gender-based employment segregation – a key factor behind women’s overrepresentation in certain industries and underrepresentation in others – and proposes policy measures to address this imbalance.
Impact of COVID-19 on Employed Women in Sri Lanka
A comparison of labour market figures and indicators for Sri Lanka for the fourth quarters of 2019 and 2020 shows a severe impact on women (Figure 1). While the absolute number of employed men has increased by 38,938, the number of employed females has decreased by 189,148. The number of economically inactive persons has increased between the years. Females account for 64% of that increase in economically inactive persons. The labour force participation (LFP) rates for both sexes have decreased significantly but the fall is more prominent for women. The unemployment rate has increased for both sexes during the period, whereas the increase for men is marginally higher than that for females attesting to the lowered LFP of women.
The Sector Matters
The greater impact on employed women due to the pandemic is linked directly with the sectors they are employed in. Calculations of the author on women’s employment in Sri Lanka based on an assessment by the International Labour Organization indicate that their employment share is high in both low-risk and high-risk economic sectors (Figure 2).
Manufacturing (including the sub-sector of textile manufacturing), accommodation and food services, and wholesale and retail are high-risk sectors with relatively high female employment shares. Female representation is relatively high in some medium-high risk and medium risks sectors such as ‘arts, entertainment, recreation, and other services’ and ‘financial and insurance activities’, respectively, as well. Even though health is a low-risk sector, women employed in the health sector face a higher risk of contagion.
Gender-based Employment Segregation – a Cause for Women’s Employment Vulnerability?
Gender-based employment segregation – ‘the unequal distribution of men and women across and within job types’, is often the major reason for women’s (or men’s) over-representation in certain sectors. In most cases, especially for females, their choice of employment is linked with the traditional gender roles they play in society (i.e. direct and indirect care responsibilities such as caring for children, the elderly, and the sick, cleaning, cooking, shopping, and fetching water and fuel). For example, in Sri Lanka, the female share in several frontline occupations is high (i.e., health professionals, health-related professionals, and care workers). These occupations are directly linked with women’s traditional gender roles.
Gender-based employment segregation creates unfavourable labour market conditions such as gender gaps in wages, job quality and employment trajectories. Demand-side factors, as well as supply-side factors, limit women’s choice in selecting an employment sector, thus causing employment segregation. Gender gaps in skills and qualifications, domestic and care responsibilities, safety (i.e. harassment at workplaces and when using public transport) issues, and lack of role models and networks are some important supply-side factors. Gender biases in recruitment, evaluation and promotion processes, employers’ perceptions of women employees (where employers perceive women employees as more suitable for certain types of jobs) and features of the workplace culture are important demand-side factors.
Way Forward
Both training in hard skills and soft skills would increase women’s chances of securing employment in fields traditionally dominated by males. Specific interventions that reduce and redistribute women’s domestic and care responsibilities (i.e. expanding access to key infrastructure for care and investing in labour-saving technology, and redistributing care responsibilities between men and women within households and between households and state and other institutions) would lessen the burden of care responsibilities borne by women. This would create an enabling environment for women to participate in labour market activities and to expand the array of employment options available for them.
Strengthening the legal framework and law enforcement mechanisms is important to ensure the safety of working women both at the workplace and when travelling to work. Furthermore, promoting female role models who have succeeded in traditionally male-dominated sectors would inspire women to choose such careers. In addition, establishing workplace cultures that practice gender-blind recruitment, evaluation, and promotion processes are needed to curtail demand-side factors of gender-based employment segregation.
* This blog is based on the comprehensive chapter on “The COVID-19 Pandemic and Employed Women: Ensuring Gender Equality beyond the Pandemic” in IPS’ forthcoming annual flagship publication ‘Sri Lanka: The State of Economy 2021’.
Link to blog: https://www.ips.lk/talkingeconomics/2021/09/07/sri-lankas-gender-based-employment-segregation-does-it-increase-womens-vulnerability-amidst-covid-19/
Sunimalee Madurawala is a Research Economist at IPS. Her research interests include health economics, gender and population studies. Sunimalee holds a BA (Economics Special) with First Class Honours and a Masters in Economics (MEcon) from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. (Talk to Sunimalee – sunimalee@ips.lk)
Average yield rates decline across the board for third consecutive week
Market participants in the secondary market exhibited mixed sentiment, pivoting from the dull sentiment on Tuesday, observing thin trading volumes and limited market activity, according to First Capital Research.
The secondary market yield curve edged down slightly by 5bps across 3M, 6M and 1Yr maturities, following the weekly T-Bill auction results. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) conducted its weekly T-Bill auction on Tuesday, successfully raising LKR 120.0 Bn, with the total offered amount being fully accepted across all maturities, the research organisation said.
The 1Yr bill attracted the most interest, while weighted average yield rates declined across the board for the third consecutive week. The 03M bill closed at 8.62% (04bps), the 06M bill at 8.77% (-04bps), and the 1Yr bill at 8.96% (-06bps).
Amongst the traded maturities, 15.09.27 traded at a range of 9.85% to 9.80% whilst 15.02.28 and 15.03.28 traded in the range of 10.15% to 10.10% and both the maturities 01.05.28 and 01.07.28 traded between 10.05% to 10.03%.
Meanwhile, on the external front, the LKR depreciated against the USD, closing at LKR 295.61/USD compared to LKR 293.17/USD recorded the previous day.
Similarly, the LKR depreciated against other major currencies such as the GBP, EUR, AUD, CNY, and JPY.
CBSL holdings of government securities remained unchanged, closing at LKR 2,515.62Bn on Tuesday.
Overnight liquidity in the banking system contracted to LKR 159.37Bn from LKR 197.51Bn recorded the previous day.
On Tuesday, the stock market experienced a day of volatility, driven by mixed sentiment among investors. The index opened in negative territory but recovered after the first hour of trading, supported by increased activity in the Banking sector and prominent blue-chip stocks, First Capital Research said.
HNB PLC, was once again ranked among Sri Lanka’s Top 10 Best Corporate Citizens at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Awards (BCCSA) 2024.
Notably, this marks the 15th consecutive year HNB has earned this sought-after distinction, underscoring its enduring leadership in sustainability, corporate responsibility, and governance.
In addition to being placed among the Top 10 Best Corporate Citizens, HNB received three more prestigious accolades at the BCCSA 2024 awards, including recognition under the Triple Bottom Line Profit category, the Category Award for Economic Contribution, and the Best Project Sustainability award.
Commenting on the significance of the Bank’s outstanding performance at this year’s awards, HNB Managing Director/CEO, Damith Pallewatte said: “Our nation has reached a critical juncture. Moving forward, it is imperative that public and private sectors shoulder greater responsibility in the broader national effort to drive inclusive, sustainable development. This award serves as another important validation of HNB’s own efforts to lead this change, and we remain committed to serving as a steadfast partner in progress to all Sri Lankans.”
HNB’s success at BCCSA was attributed to its strategic focus on delivering efficient, ethical, and sustainable banking solutions to all segments of Sri Lankan society. Driven by an unwavering focus on securing equitable local and global partnerships that uplift both the rural and national economy.
Most recently, HNB has championed initiatives in green financing and sustainability, technological innovation, and community development, including facilitation of investments into critical infrastructure, and healthcare.
This includes pioneering initiatives like HNB Sarusara, which aim to transform Sri Lanka’s agricultural sector, boost national food security, and improve livelihoods for farmers across Sri Lanka.
Through the Sarusara Programme, HNB is committed to revitalizing Sri Lanka’s agriculture sector, uplifting rural economies, and enhancing national food security. Since launching in 2024, the programme as already engaged approximately 30,000 agripreneurs across the country by modernizing their agricultural practices and improving business outcomes. It promotes the adoption of cutting-edge agricultural techniques and technologies to enhance efficiency and yields, while supporting market access and export opportunities.
With Sarusara, HNB offers tailored financial products and services specifically designed to meet the needs of agripreneurs, thereby facilitating easier access to funding for agricultural ventures. Additionally, training and skill development are integral components of the program, equipping agripreneurs with the knowledge required to thrive in a competitive market.
Together with an exemplary record on transparency, accountability, and governance, HNB continues to set new benchmarks in banking and corporate excellence.
by Sanath Nanayakkare
The UK government has woken up to the practice of healthwashing that some companies indulge in marketing their products by adding certain attributes in the marketing spin, according to an article in the Cambridge dictionary blog.
“Healthwashing is a practice where products such as food and vitamins are labelled in a way that suggests they are healthier than they actually are. By doing this, they increase the price of the product by a significant percentage and prey on the consumers by taking advantage of their health concerns,” it notes.
Delving deeper into the less than honest practice of using the suffix- washing- in marketing spin, the blog points out that Farmwashing is another practice where a company gives the impression that its products come from small, local, family-run farms, when this is not actually the case. Organic veg box company Riverford has teamed up with a group of British farmers to launch a new fairness campaign called “Farmers Against Farmwashing” aimed at exposing misleading supermarket “farmwashing” practices – where major supermarkets use fake farm brands and the overuse of the Union Jack to give shoppers the impression that their products come from quaint British family farms. However, much of the food is increasingly sourced from industrial mega farms or from overseas,”
“Meanwhile, Sanewashing is a practice where journalists or public figures portray someone with extreme ideas or policies as more reasonable and moderate than they actually are, in order to make the person more acceptable to a bigger number of people, The Poynter Institute, a journalism nonprofit, defines “sanewashing” as “the act of packaging radical and outrageous statements in a way that makes them seem normal.” “Sanewashing” is unusual in that it began not with politicians but with journalists, the Columbia Journalism Review suggests, or with people who pride themselves on not using clichés,” it notes.
Last but not least, greenwashing in marketing and advertising involves taking an existing product or service and spinning its environmentally friendly virtues even if there are none. It is hoped that Sri Lankan policymakers will also be alert and aware and watch such trends with the keenest of eyes.
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