Impact of Covid-19 on Female Labour Force in Turkey
Impact of Covid-19 on Female Labour Force in Turkey

Author(s): Zeynep Banu Dalaman
Subject(s): Gender Studies, Labor relations, Health and medicine and law
Published by: Transnational Press London
Keywords: COVID-19; female labor force; working conditions; Turkey;
Summary/Abstract: COVID-19 has emerged as a crisis that has impacted all spheres of human life. Emerging evidence shows that women are more severely affected by this change. The pandemic, however, may have an impact beyond the immediate restructuring of employment and shift gender-role attitudes within households as a result of changes in the division of household labor. Turkey witnessed a massive crisis among women wage workers both at the workplace and home. This study is based on the research by Ekmek and Gül [Bread and Rose], an emagazine on women’s networks and solidarity during the pandemic period. In this context, this study explores the impact of COVID-19 on female wage workers and their families, analyzing qualitative interviews in 22 cities of Turkey (Adana, Adıyaman, Ankara, Antalya, Antep, Aydın, Balıkesir, Bursa, Çorum, Denizli, Tunceli, Eskişehir, İstanbul, İzmir, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Malatya, Manisa, Mersin, Nevşehir, Tekirdağ, and Tokat), 23 different business line (banking, press, municipality, office, glass, warehouse, education, entertainment, household services, food, service, communication, mining, merchandising, metal, petrochemical, health and social services, defense, agriculture, transportation, textile and, tourism). During the research, in-depth interviews and surveys with structured questions were conducted with 680 female wage earners. Six themes were developed from the interview data about the impacts on, and experiences of, female wage workers: Pandemic measures in their workplace, changes in working conditions, pressure and control, changes in terms of burdens at home, relationships with family members, and changes in mood and risks of violence at home during the pandemic period and who they see as responsible for what they experience during the pandemic period. The study underlines the depressed state of female workers in Turkey and their families and argues that urgent policy interventions are required to address the impoverishment they are experiencing. Strengthening social security measures is of utmost importance.

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