‘More women might lose jobs due to COVID-19 crisis’

AMMAN – A local women organisation on Tuesday warned that more women might lose their jobs because of the COVID-19 crisis and the restrictions imposed on many sectors in Jordan.

Solidarity Is Global Institute (SIGI) issued a statement on the occasion of World Safety and Health Day, calling on the Jordanian government to adopt policies that would ensure fairness in job opportunities and other benefits and eliminate all barriers that hinders women’s participation in the labour market.

“Women in Jordan will suffer more than men from the measures imposed by the government that is limiting their participation in the economic and social activities, which will result in high unemployment rates among them,” the statement said.

“The COVID-19 crisis proved that women labourers in Jordan were effective on many fronts, but their role was not very visible or appreciated,” Solidarity Is Global Institute (SIGI) Executive Director Asma Khader said.

Khader told The Jordan Times that another reality that resulted from the lockdown because of COVID-19 was the success of flexible working hours.

“The flexible working hours, especially for women, proved effective for women during this crisis and the government needs to continue supporting this after the crisis is over,” Khader stressed.

She added that many women’s groups in Jordan are “now gearing their projects towards women’s economic empowerment to prepare for any negative consequences that might result from the lockdown”.

“We believe that we need to focus on women’s economic empowerment projects that would ensure them sustainable small businesses that would help them once life is back to normal,” Khader said.

The projects, according to Khader, will be tailored towards educating women about business-related matters such as how to run their business and maintain it, the laws and regulations they need to know, and other matters related to the business operation.

The SIGI statement pointed out that the unemployment rate among women in before the COVID-19 crisis was 24.1 per cent.