It goes without saying, but let's say it anyway: the last 12 months have been brutal.
Throughout 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has dominated headlines and with good reason. Every single aspect of our society has changed, and likely forever. From how we work, go to school, shop and even how we get around our neighbourhoods, our day to day lives have been completely transformed by this infectious disease. And we follow these public health precautions to stay safe from COVID-19 (some more than others) because the toll of not doing so is too high.
According to the World Health Organization, there have been over 2.4 million deaths and 108 million cases of COVID-19 worldwide at the time of writing this blog post. In Canada, we've had approximately 825 thousand COVID-19 cases, and over 21 thousand people have lost their lives to this disease.
And even with vaccines in play, Canadian public experts predict an even more vicious third wave this coming year. This is partially due to the slower than expected rollout of vaccines. Though let's be honest - it was always a tall order given the complexity of a country as vast as ours. The emergence of new variants of the disease also doesn't bode well, given that they may potentially hamper vaccine effectiveness.
That doesn't even highlight all the people that have been devastated by this crisis, economically and socially. People have lost their jobs and businesses, are struggling to pay rent and mortgages or have been evicted, and are experiencing higher rates of mental illness.
And guess what? Women, Two-Spirit and gender-diverse people have faced the brunt of the pandemic's fall out.
The gendered impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
Globally, women make up over 70% of health care workers. In Canada, 56% of women workers are employed in what is known as the 5Cs occupations such as caring, cashiering, catering, cleaning and clerical, many of which are essential jobs.
At the same time as making up the backbone of the essential economy, women have faced devastating job losses. As a 2020 RBC Economics report notes, since the pandemic started, women's labour market participation has dropped to levels not seen since the 1980s. This is leading to what economist Armine Yalnizyan has coined a 'she-cession'. This is because many of the sectors most impacted by lockdown measures such as tourism, hospitality, food service and retail are women-majority, including women-led businesses.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we've also seen a rise in gender-based violence, which the United Nations refers to as the shadow pandemic. In Canada, the Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister for Women and Gender Equality, has reported that gender-based violence has increased by 20% to 30%. A national survey found that gender-based violence has become more frequent and severe.
Mental illness is also on the rise for women due to exacerbating factors like economic insecurity, the 'triple burden' due to increases in unpaid care work, and additional home-schooling tasks, on top of existing work responsibilities.
But let's unpack this a bit more.
Applying a generational and intersectional lens on the 'She-cession'
As I've shared earlier, we need to prevent a 'lockdown generation' in Canada, and that means centring the needs of young people in the post-pandemic recovery. Globally, younger generations, like Millennials and Gen Z members, have had to deal with disruptions to their schooling, are facing un(der)employment and are reporting higher levels of mental illness. In Canada, the latest Labour Force Survey numbers show that employment for young women was furthest from pre-COVID-19 levels compared to all other demographic groups.
We've seen that Black, Indigenous and other racialized women are also disproportionately overrepresented in sectors impacted by lockdown measures such as accommodations and food services and in essential occupations in health and social services.
Before the pandemic, people with disabilities faced intersecting inequities putting them at heightened risk of un(der)employment, social isolation and discrimination.
The pandemic has not only revealed but amplified existing inequities leading to worse socioeconomic conditions for diverse marginalized communities.
A Feminist Recovery is a Necessity
Given that the gendered, generational and racialized impacts of this crisis have been unparalleled in both scope and magnitude compared to situations past, we need a new playbook to address this crisis.
That was the central thrust behind the development and launch of 'A Feminist Economic Recovery Plan of Canada: Making the Economy Work for Everyone', a policy report I co-wrote that was published at the end of July 2020. This initiative was a partnership between YWCA Canada and the Institute for Gender and the Economy at the University of Toronto. Our publication was the first nationally-focused feminist recovery plan of its kind. The Plan was inspired by the groundbreaking work of the State of Hawaii's Commission on the Status of Women, the first jurisdiction in the world to highlight the need for a feminist recovery through their own plan titled 'Building Bridges, Not Walking on Backs: A Feminist Recovery Plan for COVID-19'.
It didn't have to be this way
Did you know? In 1995, over 25 years ago, more than 17 000 advocates descended on Beijing, China, for the 4th World Conference on Women. Together, they collectively developed the most progressive platform for action on gender equality. With 12 critical areas of concern, 189 countries worldwide have used this policy document as a guiding force in the global movement towards gender equality.
In 2020, a global community of feminist activists and nations were set to take stock of how far we have come and what remains. Instead, today's priority is focused on stopping the rollback of gender equality and human rights due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It's disappointing to think that in the year we were supposed to be focused on progress is the year that spelled danger on all the gains made over the last quarter-century.
Hindsight maybe 2020 (and perhaps that has been my own personal, professional and political theme for the year), but if more action was taken on the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action over the last 25 years, maybe we would be in a different place right now.
Moving towards a #FeministRecovery
That's why one of the hard lessons I've learned is that there is no time to wait. Incremental change is not sufficient. We need bold action today.
The next ten years are going to be vital. The decisions we make now will have an impact for generations to come. At the same time, we are living in a period marked with immense change, and the future is uncertain.
As a recent report by the Brookfield Institute highlights, unless we take concrete action now, the temporary gender equality rollbacks we are experiencing currently may become permanent by 2030.
That's why the anticipated 2021 Budget will be so critical. It will be the first full-fledged Federal budget for Canada since the COVID-19 crisis took hold of our country and the world. It will likely build on the investments laid out in the Fall Economic Statement and have a central theme - pandemic response and recovery.
Is this enough? Simply put, no.
We keep talking about this being an unprecedented calamity, so our comeback needs to be just as unparalleled. And that means a focus on gender equality and racial justice. In the Speech from the Throne last September, the Federal government mentioned a desire for 'a feminist, intersectional response to this pandemic and recovery'. That's what we'll need to build back better.
That's why over the next few months, I'll be giving my 'hot takes' and sharing my political commentary on all things COVID-19 through an intersectional feminist lens, centring the voices of Millennials and Gen-Z women and gender-diverse people. I'll share what I think needs to be focused on in our post-pandemic future and backing that with facts, figures and research. Why? So no one can say that they don't know. This way, what needs to be done will be crystal clear, and we can hold our politicians to account.
Why am I so earnest? Because of what is at stake - an entire generation's prospects are at risk unless we do something about it. We can't let this moment pass us by. This is not the time for half measures and deferred decisions. Instead, it is the time for determined action and unwavering commitment to a bold vision: a society that genuinely works for everyone.
As Arundhati Roy has described, the COVID-19 pandemic is 'a portal' to reimagine a better world for us all.
Whether the next Federal election comes this year or next - I'll be evaluating our elected officials on how seriously they took the threat of gender equality rollbacks and racial injustice. Not only that but also what vision do they have to replace this current state for an improved one? At the ballot boxes, politicians will have my vote if they have a clear plan of action on these fronts.
What about you - what's going to be part of your political calculus?
Let me know by tagging me on Twitter at @AnjumSultana and join the conversation using the hashtag #FeministRecovery and #DigitalEdu! Can't wait to hear from you!
Anjum Sultana is an award-winning public affairs strategist committed to advancing a more just Canada. Follow Anjum on Twitter at @AnjumSultana to keep up with her policy opinions, #FeministRecovery advocacy, and musings on a post-COVID-19 world.