Why working-class women will be group worst affected by Tier 3 lockdown

While the prospect of a second wave of coronavirus looms ever larger and more parts of the UK come under new lockdown restrictions, questions linger about who will be most affected by the rules.

Research has shown working-class women were hardest hit by the first lockdown in spring, and researchers predict they will again bear the brunt of a Tier 3 lockdown — the strictest category of the government's new three-tier system for localised lockdown rules.

A new study by the University of Warwick and the University of Nottingham has raised concerns that many working-class areas of Northern England are included in the top tier of restrictions, as researchers warned no lessons have been learned from the disproportionate impact the first Covid-19 lockdown had on working-class women.

Almost half of working-class women were found to have done no hours of work in April during the height of the pandemic compared to just one in five women working in professional or managerial roles.

The repercussions of a Tier 3 lockdown — whether it is on a local or national scale — could be “far-reaching and extremely damaging” for working-class women, researchers said.

Professor Clare Lyonette, who worked with the Women’s Budget Group on research that examines employment and mental health during the first three months of lockdown, told The Independent: “We have two groups of women in this working-class group. Firstly working-class women who were more likely to be on furlough because they are disproportionately working in sectors which have been locked down.

“Secondly, women in stressful key worker frontline roles where they could be coming into contact with the virus. These are much more risky environments and they are often having to travel to work on public transport. Combine that with homeschooling, a lack of childcare from family and friends and possibly partners also working in key worker roles.

“Working-class women are less likely to work from home than professional, managerial women. Our research found working-class women more likely to be psychologically distressed than others. Working-class women are often in households which are more cramped. It is an accumulative story. It is all the responsibilities they are trying to cope with together.”

Professor Lyonette said that while the very high levels of psychological distress among working-class women have decreased a little since lockdown was eased, they are still far higher than before the coronavirus crisis.

While some 75 per cent of NHS workers are women and nine out of 10 nurses in the UK are female, women are also overrepresented in low-paid precarious sectors such as care, retail and hospitality, where zero-hour contracts are routinely handed out. Numerous studies have also shown women have borne the brunt of childcare responsibilities, household chores and homeschooling during lockdown — regardless of whether they are working or not.

Professor Tracey Warren said: “Our research shows that working-class women are disproportionately furloughed compared to men and other women — and if they are working, there is a greater potential for women to be exposed to health risks due to the nature of their roles as key workers.

“We know these women also care for children and relatives, so with the added stress of worrying about if they were to contract coronavirus or how their household will cope with the loss of 20% of their salary due to furlough, it is no wonder their mental health is suffering.”

Only one in 10 working-class women said they were “always” working from home in June, which is far lower than the average for all women which was almost one in three. Eight in 10 working-class women were working outside of the home.

Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson, director of the Women’s Budget Group, noted working-class women are at high risk of being made redundant as the “furlough scheme is rolled back”.

She added: “The government's national replacement scheme creates little incentives for employers to keep these women on. Low paid women in areas where lockdown is being re-imposed will be entitled to additional help if they are in a closed down sector, but for workers on the minimum wage or just above, two thirds of current earnings is likely to mean poverty.

“At the same time, the increase in universal credit introduced at the start of lockdown is due to end in March so low paid workers and those who lose their jobs will be worse off. If the government is serious about building back better, it needs to take urgent action to protect the employment and incomes of working-class women.”