JUNE, 2020 ISSUE 1, NO. 2 AFRICA KNOWLEDGE IN TIME POLICY BRIEF OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ECONOMIST, AFRICA REGION, WORLD BANK COVID-19 Pandemic Through a Gender Lens AFRICA GENDER INNOVATION LAB, WORLD BANK How can African countries build the epidemics1 suggests, COVID-19 will impact groups who are most vulnerable and amplify any existing inequalities economic resilience of women and across countries, communities, households and individ- girls during the pandemic? uals. This note focuses on the existing gender inequal- ities in the economic sphere in Sub-Saharan Africa and The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has led to dis- summarizes how the COVID-19 pandemic could affect ruptions of both social and economic activities across women and girls disproportionately. We draw on impact the globe. While the early narrative described COVID-19 evaluation research to showcase policy options to help as the “great equalizer,” asserting that the virus is ca- build women’s economic resilience and minimize any pable of infecting anyone, it is critical for policymakers potential negative impacts during the pandemic and re- to understand that the impacts of COVID-19 will not be covery. the same for everyone. As experience from previous Figure 1: Business Closure Rate by Gender Facebook COVID-19 Future of Business Survey June 2020 Female Business Closure Rate Male Business Closure Rate 52% 50% Percentage of businesses NOT currently operational 45% 44% 40% 37% 38% 35% 38% *** ** *** 36% 30% 31% 33% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% GHANA KENYA NIGERIA SOUTH AFRICA Data: Facebook Future of Business COVID-19 high frequency survey wave 1 concluding on 2nd June 2020. Sample is among Facebook enterprise owners and managers that use the Pages feature on Facebook for their business. Total global sample of 26,948 businesses (19,354 male and 7,594 female businesses) from ~50 countries. The sampling was designed to be representative of the Facebook business page administrator population and not of any country’s business population. Only African countries with a large sample size are shown (t-test *** significant difference at 1% level; ** significant difference at 5% level). Acknowledgement: Note prepared by Amy Copley, Alison Decker, Fannie Delavelle, Markus Goldstein, Michael O’Sullivan and Sreelakshmi Papineni of the Africa Gender Innovation Lab. Objective and disclaimer: Africa Knowledge in Time Policy Briefs synthesize existing research and data on important questions and issues around the socioeconomic dimesions of Covid-19. Africa Knowledge in Time Policy Briefs carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclu- sions are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the World Bank Group, its Executive Directors, or the governments they represent Photo: Stephan Gladieu / World Bank The COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to exacer- disproportionately in the hardest-hit sectors (Korok- bate existing gender inequalities in economic oppor- nay-Palicz, 2016). Figure 1 shows the business clo- tunities across Sub-Saharan Africa. Female-owned sure statistics from African countries in the COVID-19 firms, for example, are primarily concentrated in in- Future of Business Survey administered on Facebook formal sectors and therefore may lack basic social in early June 2020 and Figure 2 shows the regional protections that could provide a buffer against eco- perspective (Facebook Data for Good). We find more nomic distress. During the Ebola outbreak in Liberia, women-owned firms reporting temporary closures women experienced more job losses and remained than male-owned firms in both Ghana and Nigeria out of work longer than men, since women worked (i.e. approx. 9% more female firms were closed be- Figure 2: Gender Gap in Micro and Small Firm Business Closures across regions Facebook COVID-19 Future of Business Survey Female Business Closure Rate Male Business Closure Rate 45% Percentage of businesses NOT currently operational 41% 40% 40% 35% 34% 31% 30% 28% 25% 29% 23% 22% 20% 22% 15% 17% 17% 16% 10% 5% 0% Sub-Saharan Latin North MENA Europe Asia and Africa America America Oceana Figure 2 illustrates the gender gap in the rates of business closure within the Facebook COVID-19 survey sample, for micro and small businesses closed between Jan- uary 1st and June 1st 2020. Regional averages computed using country averages (conditional on obs >100). South Asia closure rate is 44% (gender gap not shown since female-owned sample size too small for a meaningful comparison). Globally, female-owned businesses were 5.9 percentage points more likely to close their business than male-owned businesses, controlling for region. 2 COVID-19 Pandemic Through a Gender Lens tween January 1st and June 2020). Female farmers also often have lower access to productive inputs, information, and liquidity than men—so in times of crisis, their farm productivity and food security will likely be hit hardest (O’Sullivan et al. 2014). School closures and a reduction in health services can also interrupt the trajectories of adolescent girls at a critical juncture. In Sierra Leone, school closures and curtailed economic opportunities during the Eb- ola outbreak led girls to spend more time with men, increasing their likelihood of becoming pregnant and leaving school (Bandiera et al. 2019). As in other re- gions, women in Africa also spend a disproportion- ate amount of time on unpaid domestic and care activities (Calderon et al. 2019). School closures and confinement measures could increase the burden of Photo: Arne Hoel/The World Bank care-related tasks, which are more likely to impact women and girls, leading to reductions in time avail- ardizing the positive impacts for women and their able for work and potentially a permanent exit from households. the labor market or education. In addition, risks of gender-based violence (GBV) can be heightened Cash transfer programs to the most vulnerable during times of crisis, isolation, and confinement. groups including women-only households (e.g., sin- gle mothers with children, widows or female small- Given the significant economic and psychosocial holder farmers) will be essential. When paired with stresses associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, cash transfers, light-touch behavioral nudges for there is an urgent need to provide effective support married couples could promote more equitable shar- at this time. Policymakers working to address the ing of household resources and intra-household al- economic challenges facing the region can draw on location of labor. These objectives can be achieved the evidence from impact evaluations provided in this without requiring physical gatherings that may put note that have already shown what works for women beneficiaries at risk during COVID-19. Couples’ in- and girls across the continent2. A careful apprecia- terventions designed to increase household cooper- tion of the gender implications of COVID-19 will allow ation and change gender norms have shown prom- for a more effective policy response and action. ising results. Research from Uganda demonstrated that small incentives paired with a couples’ workshop helped to encourage cash crop farmers to transfer Social Protection Responses contracts into their wives’ names—which led to more to the Crisis women interacting with the purchasing company, and holding contracts (Ambler, Jones, O’Sullivan, 2019). Cash transfer programs will be necessary both as Simple nudges to encourage joint decision-making part of an emergency response to the crisis and in and household harmony tested in Kenya, Tanzania, the long-term economic recovery plan. Cash trans- and Madagascar have shown preliminary promis- fers can help households mitigate consumption ing impacts to encourage women’s goal-setting and shocks in times of crisis, and evidence from North- planning (Ideas 42 and the World Bank Group, 2018, ern Nigeria shows that transfers delivered to women 2019). as a lump-sum on a quarterly basis were just as ef- fective for key outcomes as more frequent monthly Carefully designed cash transfer programs have also transfers (Bastian, Goldstein and Papineni, 2017). The been shown to reduce levels of intimate partner vi- cash transfers spurred new business creation among olence3. In a recent review, eleven out of fourteen women and their households became more food se- impact assessments found decreases in intimate cure and invested more in assets, regardless of the partner violence from a cash transfer program (Buller frequency of the transfer. Therefore lump-sum cash et al. 2018). The authors attribute the reduction in vi- transfers can be delivered at a lower implementation olence to a decrease in poverty-related stress and cost, and with fewer person-to-person interactions— reduced intra-household conflict. helping to limit the spread of the virus—without jeop- 3 COVID-19 Pandemic Through a Gender Lens Photo: Scott Wallace / World Bank Economic Recovery Responses distancing. The majority of closures are temporary, but these firms need liquidity to continue operations as fixed Programs to support women´s return to economic ac- costs mount until and after containment measures ease. tivity will play a central role in minimizing the negative Female-owned firms are generally smaller and have effects of COVID-19 (e.g. public works or cash for work thinner capital buffers than male-owned firms. As many programs, access to training and credit, direct provi- as 70% of women entrepreneurs said they needed loans sion of productive inputs to female farmers). A public to get through the crisis. works program in the Central African Republic, for ex- ample, increased the number of days worked as well Providing loans with more flexible terms to female-owned as monthly earnings (by roughly 10%), and ownership firms can help their transition toward recovery. The of durable goods for both male and female participants Women Entrepreneurship Development Project (WEDP) (Alik-Lagrange et al. 2020). In addition, ensuring access in Ethiopia issued US$23.3 million to women entrepre- to caregiving resources when work outside of the house neurs in its first calendar year of operation, with 66% of resumes can improve women’s economic engagement. recipients being first-time borrowers. Three years later, Studies from Kenya and Mozambique have found that women who received the meso-credit loans (on average supporting women’s access to childcare through vouch- US$12,000) increased their profits by an average of 40% ers and community-based preschool programs increas- (Alibhai, Buehren, Papineni, 2018). Collateral constraints es their employment rates and the likelihood that old- are more likely to bind for female entrepreneurs. Psy- er siblings enroll in school (Clark et al. 2019; Martinez, chometric tests may boost women’s access to loans by Naudeau, Pererira, 2017). providing alternative data for credit decisions in place of collateral. In Ethiopia, one study showed that customers Female-Owned Firms who scored at a high threshold on the psychometric test were seven times more likely to repay their loans com- Women in Africa are more likely than men to be entrepre- pared to lower-scoring customers (Alibhai et al. 2018). neurs, as they make up 58% of the continent’s self-em- ployed population. Female-owned firms are concen- Business plan competitions, which have proved help- trated in consumer-facing sectors (services, hospitality, ful in addressing capital constraints and encouraging retail trade) where the demand shock is hitting hard. Pro- investment in various contexts, could also be imple- viding critical liquidity and other buffers against shocks mented during the post-crisis recovery. For example, can help to protect female-owned firms from the effects in Nigeria, a business plan competition provided large of COVID-19. A phone survey to a sample of registered cash grants averaging US$50,000 and increased the women entrepreneurs conducted in Adama, Ethiopia, likelihood that women would operate a firm, boosted in April 2020 showed that 64% of firms are temporarily employment, and led to increases in sales and profits closed due to the regulations put in place around social (McKenzie, 2017). These competitions could also foster 4 COVID-19 Pandemic Through a Gender Lens innovations around the coronavirus response. Business trainings to firm owners and employees that focus on soft skills such as “personal initiative” training— which teaches women to be proactive and demonstrate perseverance—may help them to bounce back from the economic ramifications of COVID-19. In Togo, one personal initiative training resulted in a 40% increase in profits for women entrepreneurs when compared to the results of a traditional business training (Campos et al. 2018). Depending on mobility restrictions, the training could take place virtually. The personal initiative train- ing also boosted the profits of male entrepreneurs who were trained. Female Farmers More than 90% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s extreme poor, already among the most vulnerable to shocks, are en- gaged in agriculture. Women contribute a large share— roughly 40%—of agricultural labor across the African continent. Indeed, more than 60% of all employed wom- en in Africa work in agriculture (O’Sullivan et al. 2014). Women play a critical role in keeping the food system functional. Designing an agricultural intervention that meets the needs of women farmers can be challenging, especially in times of crisis and food insecurity. Providing productive inputs directly to women farmers can have positive impacts on their economic outcomes. For instance, in Côte d’Ivoire, preliminary results from an impact evaluation show that providing oxen to heads of households can help expand their cultivated land, and women were found to shift their time-use patterns to- wards self-employment. In Mali, an impact evaluation found that when women received free fertilizer, they in- creased its use as well as the use of complementary inputs, including herbicides and hired labor (Beaman et al. 2013). A study in Uganda tested the introduction of a nutrient-dense crop, the orange-fleshed sweet potato, and found that providing free crop vines and trainings helped boost the number of households cultivating and consuming the more nutritious orange sweet potatoes by 68% and 50%, respectively (World Bank Group, 2015). Encouraging couples to create joint-action plans can help include women in higher-value agricultural activi- ties, offering an opportunity to promote market inclusion in the aftermath of the crisis. In Cote d’Ivoire, male export crop farmers in an agricultural extension training were asked to fill out a two-year action plan together with their wives to manage their farms. Couples who wrote a joint plan shared more agricultural decisions and wom- en managed more cash-crop tasks, compared to those who did not fill out a plan (World Bank Group, 2020). Photo: Sarah Farhat / World Bank 5 COVID-19 Pandemic Through a Gender Lens Photo: Dominic Chavez/World Bank Such joint planning may therefore help households nav- twice as likely to become pregnant compared to girls igate the effects of the crisis in a more gender-equitable in less-affected communities (Bandiera et al. 2019). This way. In Uganda, small incentives paired with a couples’ increased their likelihood of leaving school, adversely workshop encouraged sugarcane farmers to transfer affecting their life trajectories. outgrower contracts into their wives’ names. The con- tract intervention led to marked increases in women’s The adolescent girls programs provide mentoring, sup- agency and control over productive resources (Ambler, port networks, and vocational and life skills training to Jones, O’Sullivan, 2019). girls at a critical time in their lives. In Uganda, an adoles- cent girls program implemented by the NGO BRAC in- Digital extension services can be used when tradition- creased the likelihood of girls engaging in income-gen- al agricultural extension programs are curtailed to limit erating activities by nearly 50%, tripling their earnings. person-to-person contact. While there are limits to the At the same time, teen pregnancy decreased by one types of information that is easily disseminated digital- third and fewer girls reported nonconsensual sex. (World ly, research has noted that mobile phones can connect Bank Group, 2017). In Malawi, a conditional cash transfer farmers to information about agricultural technologies, program contingent upon girls remaining in school was and increase farmers’ contact with other technology effective in boosting school enrollment rates and reduc- adopters in their social network. In Uganda, video-en- ing risky sexual behavior among adolescent girls (Baird, abled extension messaging also helped to increase McIntosh, Ozler, 2010). Switching to a virtual format to women’s participation in agricultural-decision-making, provide support and skills could help reach girls during adoption of agricultural practices and inputs, and pro- the confinement phase of COVID-19. duction outcomes for plots that women manage (Le- coutere et al. 2019). In Niger, with improved access to During the Ebola epidemic, an adolescent girls program mobile phone technology, households planted a more implemented by the International Rescue Committee diverse variety of crops, particularly marginal cash crops (IRC) in Liberia observed an increase in adolescent girls’ grown by women (Aker and Ksoll, 2016). transition from primary to secondary school that led to sustained impacts on educational achievement (Korok- Adolescent Girls nay-Palicz, 2016). The program adapted to the Ebola cri- sis by ensuring that mentors leading the programming Offering adolescent girls programs could help expand could disseminate public health information, and discuss girls’ economic opportunities and mitigate the effects of the Ebola epidemic in group sessions. In the COVID-19 crises. When schools close and economic opportunities context, mobile delivery modes (text messaging, chat- are diminished, adolescent girls can become even more lines, and apps) and virtual mentoring/meeting groups— vulnerable. Evidence from Sierra Leone during the Eb- while untested—could help to diffuse information on a ola epidemic indicates that girls spent an additional 1.3 range of topics and connect girls to important vocational hours per week with men than they did prior to the cri- and life skills training. sis. In areas severely affected by Ebola, girls were also 6 COVID-19 Pandemic Through a Gender Lens References Aker, Jenny; Ksoll, Christopher. 2016. “Can Mobile Phones Improve Agricultural Outcomes? Evidence from a Randomized Experi- ment in Niger.” Food Policy 60, 44-51. Alibhai, Aly Salman; Buehren, Niklas; Papineni, Sreelakshmi. 2018. Better loans or better borrowers? impact of meso-credit on female-owned enterprises in Ethiopia (English). Policy Research Working Paper 8511. 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Washington, DC: World Bank Group. 7 COVID-19 Pandemic Through a Gender Lens Notes 1 Lessons from the Ebola epidemic in West Africa (2014-2016) offers important insights since lockdown and school closures were also adopted during the containment phase of the disease in the worst hit African countries 2 While the programs and policies in this note focus on initiatives improving economic and social outcomes for women, many also have positive impacts for men. 3 The social distancing and quarantine regulations in a COVID-19 context can heighten the risk of gender-based violence (GBV). Crisis response programs should consult available global guidance (www.unfpa.org/minimum-standards) on how to prepare health systems to respond to GBV in emergency situations and should consider allocating funding for GBV-response service providers. Photo: Stephan Gladieu / World Bank WORLD BANK GROUP Afric R ion, Offic of th Chi f Economist