• Women in the two countries demonstrated their ability to adapt and cope with economic hardships and physical challenges
• The findings show women from nuclear families had to deal with increased workload as caregivers but without sufficient support during the lockdown
Image: UNSPLASH
The Covid-19 pandemic reduced women in the informal sector in Kenya and Uganda to caregivers despite a number of social response measures being put in place.
The latest report by the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW) however lauds women for their resilience to overcome the challenges they faced during the pandemic.
According to the report women in the two countries demonstrated their ability to adapt and cope with economic hardships and physical challenges.
The findings released virtually on Wednesday show women from nuclear families had to deal with an increased workload as caregivers but without sufficient support during the lockdown.
The report dubbed ‘The Social and Economic Impact of the Covid-19 Policy Responses on Women Working in the Urban Informal Sector in Uganda/Kenya’ sought to shed light on the challenges women in Kenya and Uganda in the informal sector faced during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Women in the informal sector showcased remarkable resilience in managing multiple responsibilities despite being overburdened,” the reports said.
The report shows that the pandemic saw only 73 per cent of Kenyan informal women workers retain their jobs compared to 89 per cent of their counterparts in Uganda.
As a result, women adopted unique measures to sustain their livelihoods in challenging circumstances.
The report shows that even though women had high awareness of social support interventions being implemented in response to the pandemic, the aid received fell short of expectations.
“Our research found that the design and roll-out of Covid-19 economic recovery and social protection policy responses did not directly target workers in the informal sector,” ICRW Africa Director Evelyne Opondo said.
“Further, while NGOs played a critical role in implementing social assistance programs such as cash transfers targeting women in informal settlements and vulnerable households, the absence of a single comprehensive registry made it difficult for the government to account for the reach of those interventions,” Opondo added.
According to the report, a notable percentage of informal women workers in both Uganda and Kenya reported experiencing Gender Based Violence (GBV).
It shows that in Kenya, higher rates of GBV were reported at work at 15 per cent while in Uganda, higher rates were reported at home at 12 per cent.
The report also raises alarm over the continued stereotyping of some roles as being for women, thus disproportionately overburdened by household chores.
The report calls for increased access to financial resources and support tailored to women in the informal sector and targeted interventions, policy changes, and support mechanisms to address the specific needs of women.