The Gender Gap in Income and the COVID-19 Pandemic in Ireland

Abstract

The gender income gap is large and well documented in many countries. Recent research shows that it is mainly driven by differences in working patterns between men and women but also by wage differences. The tax–benefit system cushions the gender income gap by redistributing it between men and women. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented levels of unemployment in 2020 in many countries, with some suggestions that men and women have been differently affected. This research investigated the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the gender gap in income in Ireland. By using nowcasting techniques and microsimulation, we modeled the effect of pandemic-induced employment and wage changes on the market and disposable income. We showed how the pandemic and the associated tax–benefit support could be expected to change the income gap between men and women. Policy conclusions were drawn about future redistribution between men and women.

How Has the Gender Earnings Gap in Ireland Changed in Thirty Years?

“…The COVID-19 pandemic-through school and workplace closures and elderly cocooning -will affect the future trajectory of gender-earnings, work, and wage gaps. In contrast to many countries where a "shecession" was expected, Doorley et al (2022) estimate that, in Ireland, men were harder hit than women by employment losses during the first three waves of the pandemic. However, they also find that women's wages declined by more than men's during the same time period.…”