Women, young people and low earners hit hardest by coronavirus
A new report from the Resolution Foundation thinktank has found that women, young people and the lowest-paid key workers are the groups most at risk from the health and economic impacts of coronavirus in the UK. The study found that women are more than twice as likely than men to occupy key worker roles including nurses, care workers and those working in education, retail and pharmacies. It also found that 39 per cent of working mothers are key workers, compared to just 27 per cent of the working population as a whole. Young people are also highly affected, with nearly 2 in 5 people aged 16 to 24 in employment before the pandemic in a sector that has since been shut down, such as hospitality, arts, travel and leisure. The report highlights that although COVID19 doesn’t discriminate between the rich and poor, the virus will impact different groups in society more than others. Researcher Maja Gustafsson comments: “Women, young people and the low-paid are most likely to be bearing the biggest health and economic risks from the crisis, which has shone a spotlight on the vitality of work that has been undervalued and underpaid for far too long”. Read more here.