Coronavirus-induced trade disruptions are likely to hit women harder than men - and the dangers are particularly acute in developing countries, according to a new information note from the World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretariat.
The reason, according to the paper, is that women make up a larger share of the workforce in the manufacturing sectors, such as textiles, apparel, footwear and telecommunication products – and these have seen the largest falls in export growth during the first months of the pandemic.
In the services sector, women also outnumber men in industries that have been directly affected by travel restrictions, such as tourism and business travel services.
To reach its conclusions the paper uses employment data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys, monthly merchandise exports data, and statistics on the mode by which a service is supplied.
The paper furthermore notes that women are disproportionately present in the informal sector in developing and least-developed countries and in activities that cannot be done remotely.