More Women Left Jobless in Informal Sector Post Lockdown: Survey

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In the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown restrictions, the livelihood of women engaged in informal sector have been impacted the most, revealed a new survey by ActionAid Association.

Conducted between the period of May-June 2020, the survey is based on the response of 3,221 women who work in the informal sector across 20 states in the country.

Of those surveyed, 79.23 percent women were left jobless following the lockdown. Compared to this, only 51.6% said they weren't engaged in active employment during the lockdown period.

(Photo: Erum Gour/The Quint)

Prior to the lockdown, 90 percent of 3,221 these women were engaged in paid work.

85% Domestic Workers Lost Jobs

Domestic workers are heavily concentrated in urban areas – 88.5 percent of them live in urban areas, against only 11.5 percent who live in rural areas, the study revealed. 40 percent of them said they had migrated for work.

The survey revealed that 85 percent of domestic workers lost their jobs during this period, with 90 percent of them being women.

(Photo: Erum Gour/The Quint)

At least 68 percent of them incurred further debts to meet their day-to-day expenses.

Difference in Wages Received

Around 52 percent of women workers said that they did not receive any wages during the period, while around 16 percent received partial wages after the lockdown.

On the contrary, 32 percent women received full wages after the lockdown, as did 37 percent of male workers.