For our free coronavirus pandemic coverage, learn more here.<\/p>\n
Sydney\u2019s lockdown threatens to interrupt a spell of strong employment growth for NSW women as families juggle the demands of work, online learning and additional household chores.<\/p>\n
One hallmark of the recovery from last year\u2019s deep recession has been a surge in women\u2019s employment but during previous lockdowns there has been a drop in the share of women participating in the workforce.<\/p>\n
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Kamna Mantri says it is a \u201cjuggling act\u201d keeping her eight-year-old daughter engaged with her school activities while focusing on her own paid work.<\/span>Credit:<\/span>Rhett Wyman<\/cite><\/p>\n During the initial lockdown at the onset of the pandemic in 2020 the female labour force in NSW shrank by 115,000 between March and May. The male labour force also contracted in that period but not to the same extent. Women\u2019s workforce participation has also declined noticeably during subsequent lockdowns, including Victoria\u2019s fourth shutdown in May-June this year.<\/p>\n ANZ economist Catherine Birch expects women\u2019s workforce participation (the share aged 15 and over in the labour force) to decline in Sydney during the winter shutdown.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are two sides to it,\u201d she said. \u201cFemale dominated industries tend to be more affected by these lockdowns so they are more likely to lose employment but also when you are doing things like home schooling often it is females that take on the majority of that burden so they may not be able to work as well.\u201d<\/p>\n The number of hours worked by both women and men will also be affected by the city-wide restrictions which include a shutdown of the construction sector.<\/p>\n Research conducted by Melbourne University professor Lyn Craig in May 2020 during the initial COVID-19 lockdowns found women took on much more responsibility for home schooling than men. She anticipates this trend will be repeated during the latest lockdown.<\/p>\n Professor Craig, who is an expert in household time use, said her research showed many mothers felt \u201coverwhelmed\u201d by the challenge of managing children\u2019s online learning, paid work and other household tasks.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was hugely stressful for many women,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Stephanie Maxwell, who works in marketing and has two young daughters, said she has taken on the lion\u2019s share of housework because her husband was the chief executive officer of a technology consultancy and cannot work part-time. He does not have the flexibility to manage home learning during the week.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has to be available so the load falls to me for all the home learning, the communication with the school and all the other juggle,\u201d she said. \u201cIt does add an extra load.\u201d<\/p>\n Stephanie Maxwell and family.<\/span><\/p>\n Ms Maxwell, who lives in Hornsby, is home schooling her six-year-old daughter while working from home three and a half days a week.<\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of work, I am lucky I have a flexible workplace where I don\u2019t need to be available nine to five if it\u2019s not possible. What that does mean though is that I am doing more work out of hours to catch up, which impacts on work-life balance. I\u2019m finding I don\u2019t have as much time as what I had previously.\u201d<\/p>\n Professor Rae Cooper from Sydney University\u2019s Business School said parents trying to work while home schooling were doing it tough.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know from the 2020 lockdowns that the lion\u2019s share of domestic labour and care for kids, including managing kids\u2019 online learning, has fallen to mothers,\u201d she said. \u201cLast year men did more than they had before, but women\u2019s unpaid work increased more. So the gender gap in unpaid work is even bigger now.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it all gets too hard, I would expect to see people taking unpaid leave and potentially dropping out of the labour force.\u201d<\/p>\n Kamna Mantri, an auditor at consultancy firm PWC in Sydney, said it was a \u201cjuggling act\u201d helping her eight-year-old daughter stay engaged with school work for six hours while focusing on her own paid work.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is not easy,\u201d she said. \u201cHaving a routine, day schedule and alarm clocks helps.<\/p>\n \u201cLast lockdown we realised the importance of getting outdoors each day. This time we\u2019ve been trying out recreational activities like kayaking, hiking and biking and I\u2019ve been trying to have a casual 15-minute walk daily.\u201d<\/p>\n But no matter what they do, Mrs Mantri feels guilt about perhaps \u201cnot giving 100 per cent\u201d to either her job or her daughter\u2019s home schooling.<\/p>\n Women\u2019s employment in NSW has increased by almost 200,000 since May last year, outstripping growth in male employment during in that period by more than two-to-one.<\/p>\n The female unemployment rate in NSW was 4.3 per cent in June, well below the male rate of 5.7 per cent. In May this year the participation rate for NSW women hit an all-time high of 61.7 per cent.<\/p>\n While Sydney\u2019s winter lockdown is likely to disrupt the recent growth in women\u2019s employment, Ms Birch expects a \u201csolid rebound\u201d in demand for jobs later this year. This has been the pattern after previous pandemic lockdowns as job markets in affected regions have tended to recover strongly and recouped earlier losses.<\/p>\n The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. <\/i><\/b>Sign up here<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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