Women 11 times more likely than men to not resume work after COVID-19 job loss

Livelihoods: Women were seven times more likely than men to lose their jobs during the COVID-19-induced lockdown, and 11 times more likely to not return to work subsequently.

These findings are from a working paper titled ‘Down and Out? The Gendered Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on India’s Labour Market’, prepared by Azim Premji University’s senior research fellow Rosa Abraham, associate professor Amit Basole, and assistant professor Surbhi Kesar.

The researchers used Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy(CMIE)-Consumer Pyramids Household Survey (CPHS) data to construct employment trajectories during the pandemic for three time periods: pre-lockdown (December 2019-January 2020), lockdown (April-May 2020), and post-lockdown (August-September 2020).

Prior to the pandemic, about 70 percent of working age men were employed and by August-September 2020, 88 percent of them remained employed or returned to work. On the other hand, of the 10 percent of working age women who were employed before the pandemic, only 53 percent remained employed or returned to work by August-September 2020, indicating that half of the pre-pandemic female workforce had lost their jobs and were unable to return to work after the lockdown.

Among workers who did return to employment, the paper stated that a large share of men moved to self-employment or daily wage work in agriculture, trade, or construction. For women, there was limited movement into other employment arrangements or industries. “This suggests that typical fallback options for employment do not exist for women. During such a shock, women are forced to exit the workforce whereas men negotiate across industries and employment arrangements.”

On daily wage workers, the paper said that both men and women were more likely to face a job loss compared to other workers engaged in the formal sector.

The paper also pointed out how education and marriage had contrasting impact on men and women. Educated women were more vulnerable to losing their jobs as compared to educated men. In the case of marriage, married women from larger households were less likely to return to work.

Read this article on why policies implemented to increase female workforce participation need more thought.

Fundraising & Communications: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued a circular extending the validity of FCRA registration certificates to September 30th, 2021. This applies to all FCRA licences that have expired or will expire between September 29th, 2020 and May 31st, 2021. The decision to extend the deadline has been driven by the exigencies arising from the COVID-19 situation.

FCRA refers to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 2010, which permits charitable organisations based in India to raise funds from foreign sources.

The order also clarified that nonprofits that have already opened an account and have the requisite permission to receive foreign aid, can henceforth receive it only in these newly-opened accounts.

The FCRA law was amended in September 2020 to include a clause that mandated that all nonprofits receiving foreign aid must necessarily open an account in State Bank of India’s New Delhi Main Branch. The government had initially set the deadline for this account opening as March 31st, 2021; it later extended it to June 30th, 2021 after several nonprofits argued in court that there had been delays because necessary approvals from MHA had not been received.

Several organisations have not been able to receive foreign funds during the crisis caused by the second wave, and this has impacted their COVID-19 relief efforts. Relaxing the foreign funding rules could significantly help organisations ramp up their operations to help individuals, supply critical healthcare equipment, and respond to communities in rural areas.

Read this article to know how amending the FCRA can have unforeseen implications.

Philanthropy & CSR: The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has issued a circular that allows corporate spending on health infrastructure for COVID-19 care to qualify as corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure.

This includes setting up medical oxygen generation and storage plants, manufacturing and supply of oxygen concentrators, ventilators, cylinders, and other medical equipment to counter COVID-19.  

The announcement comes at a time when all efforts are being directed towards expediting efforts to support the country’s healthcare infrastructure.

According to the circular, companies can now undertake projects and activities in collaboration with other companies using CSR funds. Additionally, they can contribute to specified research and development projects, as well as publicly funded universities and certain organisations that conduct research in science, technology, engineering, and medicine.

The government had earlier clarified that setting up makeshift hospitals and temporary COVID-19 care facilities would also be considered a CSR activity. Rajesh Verma, the Corporate Affairs Secretary, has requested businesses to consider converting vacant office buildings into COVID-19 facilities to cater to the rapidly increasing caseload.

Read this article to understand why media attention on COVID-19 deaths due to lack of oxygen in big cities has skewed donor priorities.