Women have benn particularly vulnerable to the labour market consequences of the pandemic. Globally, four in ten employed women work in sectors that were hard-hit COVID-19, including travel, retail, food, accommodation, and services.

In low-and middle-income countries, women are also much more likely to be employed in domestic work, a sector in which three out of four workers were at risk of losing their job in June 2020.

At the same time, women are also overrepresented in certain essential sectors, including health and social work, exposing them to greater physical and mental health risks.

In many high-income countries, more than 80 percent of the health workforce is made up of women.

Childcare responsibilities arising as a result of school closures can also play a role in the reduction of working mothers’ labour supply.

Single parents are particularly at risk, of whom almost four out of five around the world are women.