Equality Ministry, LISER Launch Research Project on COVID-19 from a Gender Perspective

Luxembourg's Ministry of Equality between Women and Men has initiated a research project with the Luxembourg Institute of Socio Economic Research (LISER) on COVID-19 from a gender perspective.

The Equality Ministry has announced that it will analyse the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on equality (i.e. how the crisis affects women and men differently) through an in-depth research project carried out by LIST.

The appearance of the coronavirus in early 2020 and the subsequent declaration of a state of emergency in Luxembourg had an impact on a multitude of areas of daily life, namely health but also crisis management, employment, public life, childcare, education, domestic chores and marital and family relations. In terms of gender equality, the question is how these radical changes in daily life have influenced equality between women and men. And how might the pandemic undermine the advances in gender equality made in recent decades?

On Wednesday 20 January 2021, Luxembourg's Minister of Equality between Women and Men, Taina Bofferding, signed a cooperation agreement with LISER to explore this issue in greater depth. The results of this research project are scheduled for the end of 2021.

As part of the research project, LISER will focus on several themes, such as:

- the differences between women and men relating to health aspects directly related to COVID-19;
- the impact of the measures introduced by the Luxembourg government following the first lockdown in March 2020;
- the impact of the crisis on women and men in the areas of unemployment and financial resources;
- the use of teleworking by women and men, as well as the differences between the sexes in terms of time use in the context of homeschooling and the performance of domestic tasks;
- the differences in attitude towards the crisis in general and the measures to contain the pandemic in particular, for instance barrier gestures.

Minister Taina Bofferding highlighted that the crisis has had an undeniable impact on gender equality. Starting with the inequality of the ratio of women to men relative to the number of infected and the number of fatal cases linked to COVID-19.

The minister stated: "We also note that women were more involved in the education of children at home during the period of the first confinement, and the same for domestic tasks. There is a real danger of going back to the stereotypes of the 1950s in terms of gender equality. As the World Economic Forum announces, the fallout from the coronavirus could be worse for women than for men. In times of crisis, gender equality is a goal that is often put on hold and tends to be seen as secondary. But understanding the imbalance of COVID-19's impacts on gender is essential through sex-disaggregated data. Having a scientific basis in the form of a study with a quantified inventory is an essential prerequisite. It is not just about rectifying long-standing inequalities. We want to build a more just and resilient society”.

Aline Muller, CEO of LISER, explained that the institute has been engaged in a socio-economic analysis of the crisis since the first lockdown. She praised this new collaboration with the Equality Ministry which will be complementary by placing particular emphasis on equality between women and men.