Rabat – Moroccan women in the labor market were 10% more likely to face layoffs than their male counterparts at the height of the COVID-19 crisis, according to World Bank labor market analysis.
In a recent publication, dubbed “Gender and COVID-19,” the World Bank compiles existing data on the gender dimension of the COVID-induced economic crisis.
The data reveals that, compared to men, women were disproportionately more affected by the economic fallout of the pandemic.
Women-led businesses were more likely to close six weeks or more after national COVID-19 peak crises than men-led companies, according to the report.
While Morocco displayed an overall resilience in the face of COVID-19 with businesses having a higher survival rate than in most developing countries, women led-businesses had a lower survival rate than men-led businesses.
When faced with a sales halt, men-led businesses survive for up to 16 weeks on average while women-led businesses survive on average for a little more than 12 weeks, the report found.
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In addition to having a lower survival rate than men-led businesses, women-led enterprises were around 5% more likely to close temporarily because of the spread of COVID-19.
The COVID-19 mortality rate has been higher among men than women. Still, the report established, the economic implications of the global health crisis were far tougher for women, who had a harder time adapting to the pandemic.
Without detailed data according to regions and countries, the report concludes that women business leaders faced more constraints accessing financial support than their male counterparts.
The high level of layoffs among women is partly due to the fact that women have a higher labor market share in sectors that were affected the most by COVID-19, such as tourism, the report argued.
It also noted other social factors that might have contributed to the decline in womens’ contribution to the labor market during the pandemic. These included women taking up more household responsibilities and caring for children amid the first worrisome weeks of the COVID-induced worldwide uncertainty.
