Short Abstract:

Amidst the pandemic, global supply chain disruptions severely impacted labour markets, with women bearing disproportionate consequences, notably in labour-intensive manufacturing sectors. This quantitative study in Sri Lanka analyzes the pandemic's impact on women's employment. Results reveal significant job losses and widening gender pay gaps, emphasizing the need for gender-responsive policies.

Long Abstract:

Research Context

Stringent restrictions implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic by governments worldwide led to sudden disruptions in global supply chains, causing disruptions in the labour markets and livelihoods. Both genders suffered from the pandemic, but women experienced disproportionate impacts due to labour market disruptions. One of the sectors hit hardest, is labour-intensive manufacturing, where women's representation is notably high.

Sri Lanka, with no exception, faced significant challenges due to mobility restrictions imposed amidst the pandemic. Export-oriented industries were severely affected in the initial phase due to sudden lockdowns, which rendered industry functioning impossible. In later phases, conditions were relaxed for export-oriented industries like apparel, as the economy heavily depends on those exports. However, to operate while adhering to health guidelines, many manufacturers resorted to layoffs and wage cuts, adversely impacting workers' economic, human, and social well-being. Evidence highlights dire circumstances faced by female workers, including heightened unemployment, diminished incomes, and deteriorating working conditions. On the other hand, many women voluntarily quit their jobs due to difficulties created by the crisis, increasing the burden of care work. Thus, there is a case for analyzing the pandemic's impact on women in Sri Lanka’s manufacturing sector through an industry- and occupation-specific analysis to identify the hardest-hit industries and occupations and assess women's circumstances within them in terms of employment, income, and working conditions. Amidst a surge in published studies globally on gendered impacts of the pandemic with newly collected data, this study aims to provide quantitative evidence utilizing secondary data, as there remain ample opportunities to address this research gap, leveraging innovative approaches with existing data sources.

Methodology

The effects on women in manufacturing industries are delineated across three key domains: number of job losses, income, and working hours—a proxy for working conditions. Industries were identified using the International Standard Classification of Industries (ISICr4) at 2-digit level, and occupation categories were identified at 10 major groups outlined in the International Standard Classification of Occupation (ISCO). The study primarily relies on Sri Lankan Labour Force Survey (LFS), conducted quarterly by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS). Quarterly data from 2019 to 2021 were employed to capture pre- and post-pandemic periods, with the second quarter of 2020, coinciding with the onset of the pandemic, serving as the reference point for analysis. To detect the job losses, population estimates of the number of employed persons were calculated based on the sample observations in the survey across quarters. Wage and working hours were averaged values of monthly primary income from LKR and actual hours worked during the last week of the survey within industries and occupation categories. Export data from the ITC Trade Map and industry output data from the Annual Survey of Industries by the DCS were mapped with LFS data as needed to identify the export orientation of industries. Descriptive statistics were employed to visually depict the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women.

Analysis and Conclusion

Comparing pre-pandemic (2019) and pandemic (2020) export data, results show that two of the most severely affected industries - tobacco and leather - are female-dominated. Between the first and last quarters of 2020, while job numbers increased across other industries for both genders, manufacturing industries suffered job losses according to the results. Female job losses in manufacturing industries reached 16.29%, surpassing male job losses at 5.95%. Key exporting industries- apparel, food, rubber, and textiles- have also reported noteworthy female job losses at levels of 10.77%, 14.20%, 9.05%, and 27.28% respectively. The female dominated paper products industry, recorded the highest immediate female job loss at 81.22% from the first to the second quarter of 2020. The wood products industry is the next highly affected industry with a 65.19% female job loss. Importantly, more than 50% of employed women in paper and wood industries are engaged in informal employment.

In the Sri Lankan labour market, it is evident that a persistent gender pay gap prevails disadvantaging women over the years. Notably, within the key exporting industries of apparel and food, this disparity in pay of managerial occupations widened from pre-pandemic to post-pandemic, ranging from LKR 19,016 to LKR 90,107 and LKR 5,779 to LKR 19,580, respectively. It is worth highlighting that female employees in elementary-level occupations were disproportionately impacted by salary increases compared to those in managerial and professional occupations. Salaries for female managerial occupations experienced significant increases from early 2019 to late 2021, while salaries for women in elementary occupations showed only marginal growth, despite minimal changes in working hours over the same period.

The occupational and industrial segregation of Sri Lankan labour market exacerbates women's exposure to the pandemic's economic ramifications far more than men. Women are predominantly employed in labour-intensive manufacturing industries, which are highly susceptible to external shocks. They are often concentrated in low-paying elementary jobs compared to men, resulting in substantial wage disparities. Moreover, a significant proportion of temporary workers in manufacturing industries are female, indicating heightened vulnerability. These gender disparities stem from factors on both the supply and demand sides. On the supply side, increased household responsibilities, and limited childcare options may force women to allocate more time to unpaid care work reducing their work commitments compared to men. On the demand side, the disproportionate impact on women is attributed to their higher employment rates in sectors severely affected by external shocks, as well as their more precarious employment contracts.

The results underscore the imperative for implementing gender-responsive mechanisms to mitigate the detrimental impacts of future pandemics. As women are extra vulnerable to the pandemics, without interventions addressing underlying structural issues, women are poised to endure ongoing employment crises, both amid pandemics and beyond. While generating employments in less vulnerable sectors is a gradual process and macroeconomic phenomena, microlevel interventions to minimize impact on women should be explored in the short-term. Gender-responsive active labour market policies, such as employment retention measures, wage subsidies with gender balance criteria and initiatives supporting women's employability, will help mitigate job losses and facilitate reintegration into the workforce.

Key words: export-oriented industries, labour-intensive manufacturing, pandemic, women