COVID-19 Lockdowns and Female Employment: Evidence from the Philippines

Abstract

Using labor force survey (LFS) data collected before and during the COVID-19 lockdowns in the Philippines, we showed that hard lockdowns had a larger negative impact on the employment of women who had minor children compared to women who did not have minor children. Among Southeast Asian countries, the Philippines was among the hardest-hit by the pandemic, in terms of both the number of infected and its economic toll. The large economic toll was partly attributable to the extreme and militarized lockdown imposed at the onset of the pandemic in the country’s three most populous and economically-important regions, namely Metro Manila, Calabarzon, and Central Luzon. Using difference-in-differences analysis on pooled LFS data, we showed that female household heads or spouses with children were significantly less likely to have paid employment during the hard lockdown compared to female household heads or spouses without children, even after controlling for important covariates. Among women with children, the employment losses were larger for women with two or more children, suggesting a lockdown-induced parenthood penalty for women in the labor market. This was due in part to the increased care responsibilities disproportionately shouldered by mothers during hard lockdowns, given that children were forced to be at home and do distance learning.

The effect of COVID‐19 on employment: A bibliometric review of a she‐cession

“…A situation that occurred to a lesser extent for women who worked in the government sector due to their working and health conditions. Ducanes and Ramos (2023), in the case of the Philippines, found that within the female group, women with children suffered the impacts of the pandemic in the workplace to a greater extent. Effect that Tverdostup (2022) observes will impact gender inequality in the long term in Estonia.…”

“…Abdel-Rahman et al (2023) determined the factors that negatively affected the female workforce in five Arab countries-Egypt, Morocco, Sudan, Jordan and Tunisia), observing that women with high family responsibilities (childcare and housework) were seriously affected and lost their jobs. A situation that occurred to a lesser extent for women who worked in the government sector due to their working and health conditions Ducanes and Ramos (2023),. in the case of the Philippines, found that within the female group, women with children suffered the impacts of the pandemic in the workplace to a greater extent.…”

Fostering wellbeing and satisfaction for micro-entrepreneurs: the role of coworking spaces

“…The recent economic fluctuations and the COVID-19 pandemic have heightened their need for adaptive and agile strategies (Ducanes and Ramos, 2022). This adaptive nature often leads them to seek flexible work arrangements, yet home offices and other "third places" like cafes or libraries fall short of providing a conducive work environment, often leading to issues like work-family conflicts and cognitive employment insecurity (Antonucci et al, 2021;Molina, 2021).…”