The effect of covid-19 on attitudes towards gender equality : a case study of female workers of Shimla

Abstract

Kamla Bhasin, the developmental feminist activist, poet, author and social scientist, has been quoted as, “Ghar ka kaam, sab ka kaam.” (Household work is everyone’s work). However, this remains an elusive dream for women, in India and elsewhere, where women shoulder the disproportionate burden of household work.

This study examines the effect of the Covid-19 induced lockdown and its economic and social effects on individual attitudes toward intra-household gender equality in the state of Himachal Pradesh. The state has consistently done well in gender outcomes and may provide interesting insights into the attitudes of a relatively gender-progressive population and a comparison with research done in states that are more urbanised and metropolitan. Gender equality within the household has been investigated using two theoretical frameworks– gender role ideology and the bargaining power of members of the household. Taking a case study approach comprising 30 female workers of Shimla, the study finds that while there was no regression in gender attitudes due to the pandemic, which may be attributed, in part, to the economic cushion provided by employers and to the social norms surrounding gender relations, however, the same social norms promote gender role ideologies that still perceive the household and the unpaid work that comes along with it as the primary responsibility of women even if they contribute to the wage earnings of the household.