The Girls' Guide To The Economy Part 9--The Impact Of The Economic Downturn On Women's Lives

“The bail-out money for the financial and corporate sector is twenty times more than the amount needed to achieve all of the Millennium Goals at once!”

–the Concord Times (Freetown, Sierra Leone)

As we have pointed out repeatedly on this blog, the economic disaster that is permeating throughout the world has specific impacts on women.  According to the International Labour Organisation, a higher percentage of women than men will lose their jobs worldwide this year.  In a recent interview, Dr. Michelle Ford, Chair of the Department of Indonesian Studies at the University of Sydney (AU) explained that the impact will be particularly hard of women in developing Asian economies,

Because of social expectations that men will be a breadwinner even if that’s not the case in fact. The other thing is that women are often in marginal jobs in factories and in work places that can be easily cut and they can be sacked when life is tough for the company and brought back in when things are better. So lots of women in production, especially in export oriented factories, the sort of factories that make the clothes and shoes that we buy in the supermarkets, those sorts of jobs are very easily expendable.

Ford also makes the extremely important point that this situation will lead to more women going abroad to find work, which leaves them vulnerable to human trafficking issues,

Millions of women actually leave the poorer countries of South East and East Asia, but mostly South East Asia, to work in other places in Asia, but also in Europe and America. And of course when their employers start to feel the economic pinch, life becomes harder for them, and this can happen in two main ways. One, they can be sacked and told to go home, and often these women have borrowed lots of money, their families have borrowed money to get them there, and their families back at home depend on that income, or if their employers can still keep them, but life is a bit tougher. They are the ones who feel the pinch, If their employers stress, they are likely to suffer either verbal or even physical abuse and also they have to deal with tightened economic situations in the home of the employer.

And according to IPS, a new study released Tuesday by the Paris-based U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) warns that “the crisis will “push millions into deeper poverty and result in the deaths of thousands of children”.

Thelma Kay, director of ESCAP’s Social Development Division, told IPS that in many families, household expenditures, such as for food and child-rearing, are managed by women.

“Women dependents are having to care for their entire families on less income, and working women are having to support families with their wages alone, which, on average, are lower often considerably than men’s,” Kay said.

On top of that, she said, food prices have spiraled over the last two years, forcing women to make difficult financial choices.

“And where school costs become unbearable, it is the girl-children who are more likely to be taken out of the classroom,” Kay said.

In Britain meanwhile, the government is concerned enough about  the potential uptick in violence against women as a result of economic stress that thy have issued a booklet offering resources for dealing with this. Called Real Help Now For Women, it

Is based on the premise that “women, especially those who are pregnant or work part-time, can feel particularly vulnerable during economic downturns”. The document provides a summary of benefits already available, and details support groups women can call on if they feel their job or personal safety is threatened as a result of the recession.

Figures from the Metropolitan police issued in January suggested that there has been a slight increase in domestic violence in the past year, and the acting deputy commissioner, Tim Godwin, said police were looking at how stress in terms of lost jobs might create tension in families. The attorney general, Lady Scotland, has also warned that domestic violence will rise with increased financial worries. The government booklet devotes a section to the impact of the recession on divorce, violence and family tensions.

Why is it important to understand the  specific impacts experienced by women during this economic crisis?  Quite simply because if we are to effectively remedy the situation, these issues need to be acknowledged and addressed by governments and economic policy makers.  A failure to do so will result in  a failure to heal the economy of the world in a real and meaningful way for its most vulnerable citizens, women and children.

With a certainty, it is also crucial that women be represented at the table, just as they should be in resolving the upheaval of violence.  If you feel despair that this could ever happen, it can and it has.  In Iceland in the form of the Bjork Fund.  According to Halla Tómasdóttir of Audur Capital,

“Our Björk fund is to focus on sustainable growth. Iceland was the first in the world into the crisis, but we could be the first out, and women have a big role to play in that. It goes back to our Viking women. While the men were out there raping and pillaging, the women were running the show at home.

“We have five core feminine values. First, risk awareness: we will not invest in things we don’t understand. Second, profit with principles – we like a wider definition so it is not just economic profit, but a positive social and environmental impact. Third, emotional capital. When we invest, we do an emotional due diligence – or check on the company – we look at the people, at whether the corporate culture is an asset or a liability. Fourth, straight talking. We believe the language of finance should be accessible, and not part of the alienating nature of banking culture. Fifth, independence. We would like to see women increasingly financially independent, because with that comes the greatest freedom to be who you want to be, but also unbiased advice.”

Imagine if those ideas were to be implemented in the United States, don’t think hedge funds and derivatives would meet those standards…