by Hannah Bardell MP

CRISES aren’t selective when it comes to making an impact on the world and COVID-19 is no exception. Millions of women across the globe in economies of every size are losing income and both unpaid care and their domestic work burden has exploded.

According to UN Women, whilst everyone is facing unprecedented challenges, women are bearing the brunt of the economic and social fallout of COVID-19.

Women who are poor and marginalized face an even higher risk of COVID-19 transmission and fatalities, loss of livelihood, and increased violence. Globally, 70% of health workers and first responders are women and yet they are not at par with their male counterparts. At 28% the gender pay gap in the health sector is higher than the overall gender pay gap (16%).

Closer to home, new research has revealed that young women have been picking up the pieces and paying the price in the wake of the global pandemic. In a survey of 4,000 young people aged 18-30, the research found that an estimated 1.5 million young women have lost income since the start of the pandemic and more than two thirds (69%) of young women claiming Universal Credit this year say they did so for the very first time.

Stark facts are revealed by the survey, carried out by The Young Women’s Trust: an estimated 750,000 young women in the UK are forced to go to work despite fears for their safety and protection against the virus and, half of young women who are parents (51%) said they were unable to apply for or left a job because they could not cover childcare costs - this is up from a third of young women when the same question was asked last year.

We know that young women are disproportionately likely to work in the sectors that have been worst affected by the lockdown and are more likely to be key workers than men. The Trust’s report found young women’s safety being compromised in these vital roles, including being forced to come into work when showing symptoms of coronavirus and facing increased levels of sexism and sexual harassment.

The report warned that young women are being pushed into poverty with many reporting skipping meals and accessing benefits and food banks for the first time, and that these financial struggles are compounded for some young women who were also experiencing economic abuse. As people fall ill with the virus and childcare facilities close, young women are taking on significant unpaid caring responsibilities, affecting both young women’s ability to access work and their mental health.

The report ‘Picking up the Pieces’ is a sobering read, exposing how millions of young women across the country have struggled and felt ignored throughout this crisis and the toll it has taken on their careers, finances, home life and mental health. It is also a heartbreaking read; the young women’s stories touched my heart, their bravery, compassion and sheer determination to keep going, to keep caring, to keep holding everything – and everyone – around them together is nothing short of incredible.

But they need help.

Over and above their challenging pre-existing situations, many of these young women have been playing a key role in efforts to combat the virus. According to Mark Gale, Policy and Campaigns Manager at the Young Women’s Trust they are now left walking a tightrope of financial worry, unsafe work and a complex and unfair benefits system. “With the hope of a vaccine on the horizon the focus will naturally shift to building back. I urge you to ensure that these young women are not forgotten as we do so.”

The Scottish Government has recognised the ongoing challenges posed by the pandemic and has introduced a number of measures – policies backed by funding – to mitigate the impact and ease the difficulties for everyone across Scotland, ensuring that young women are not forgotten.

For example, the Crisis Grant if you lose your money or job, the Self-Isolation Support Grant and the Community Care Grant. £15 million is being made available to respond to children and young people’s mental health issues, with a focus on those brought about by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Then there’s the £43 million Connecting Scotland programme, committed to support around 50,000 people to get online by the end of 2021, in addition to the £25 million committed to provide laptops for disadvantaged children to study online, benefitting up to 70,000 Scots.

Further steps to tackle inequalities in the workplace and help women return to work following a career break have been announced, such as a £500k new Women Returners Programme to fund projects that help to address gender inequality in the workplace and a further £850k will be available through the Workplace Equality Fund to help organisations to develop more inclusive and diverse workplaces.

The Scottish Government has taken decisive action to mitigate the social harms caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, backed by an initial £350 million package of Communities funding announced as early as 18 March 2020. There is a £50 million hardship fund, £22 million Scottish Welfare Fund top up, £8 million boost to Discretionary Housing Payment allocations, £20 million to support individuals at financial risk over the winter period, £67.6 million made available to tackle food insecurity, including for the continuation of Free School Meal provision during school closures and holidays to Easter 2021.

The Scottish Government has also launched a Workplace Equality Fund for 2020 to offer immediate support to equality groups in the current COVID-19 environment and ensure that work to promote and embed workplace equality continues so that equality groups are not further disadvantaged in the labour market as a result of the effects of Covid-19.

The Young Women’s Trust makes five key recommendations around investment in digital resources and better remote support for young women, mental health support specific to young women, data on the impact of coronavirus on women, better financial support and benefits and safe and secure work opportunities for young women I would like to add my own recommendation, one that would go a long way to ensuring the Trust’s five recommendations are implemented, and that is to invest in supporting young women into politics.

The survey showed a clear picture of young women feeling ignored and therefore untrusting of the current government: 61%of young women felt ignored by politicians, as did 72% of young women with a disability or long-term health condition and only 11% of young women were confident that the government would do what’s right for them. It’s not surprising they feel that way when they look at their own MPs and see middle-aged, straight, white men in suits staring back at them.

We need more young women of colour, young female parents and young disabled women in government so their beliefs, values and views are represented and reflected back to the public.

Hannah Bardell is SNP MP for Livingston