Women could lose on work benefits post-Covid-19

Women are unlikely to attract equal employment benefits post-Covid-19 despite the pandemic debunking the perception that they are unproductive working from home, experts say.

Mr Perminus Wainana, managing partner and head of recruitment at Corporate Staffing Services, a human resource agency, says awarding female employees benefits such as promotion, pay rise and equal pay for equivalent work is dependent on employers’ attitude. He says a law is a necessary tool for protecting employees’ rights but it takes employer’s deliberate actions to create an equal working environment for both genders.

“The law is clear, you cannot discriminate on the basis of gender, but how many women lose jobs because of maternity?” he quips.

Under Clause 5(Section (3a-b) of 2007 Employment Act, it is illegal for an employer to discriminate an employee on grounds of sex, pregnancy, marital status or HIV status.

Further under Clause 5(Section 5) requires an employer to offer all his employees equal remuneration for work of equal value.

EQUAL WORK, LESS PAY

Women still earn less than men for equal work done.

According to World Economic Forum (WEF), a female employee in Kenya earns Sh45 less than her male counterpart for a similar job; for every Sh100 paid to the male colleague, she earns Sh55.

Work in post-Covid-19 era would change as the epidemic has brought to the fore varied dynamics about employee performance. This, however, would be to the gain or loss of women, especially those in 24 -35 age bracket, says Mr Wainaina.

“Maternity leave is one of the contentious issues that arises when it comes to hiring women of child bearing age… (women in) the 24-35 (age bracket),” he notes.

“Now Covid-19 has proven that it is actually possible for women to work from home,” he says.

“It is now possible for a female employee to have a discussion with her employer that ‘I have gone for maternity (leave); can I work off-site for three more months?” he states.

UNPAID CARE

Women, on the other hand, would be on the losing end. Their productivity is being compromised by the additional workload of unpaid care.

Employers would, therefore, be reluctant to either employ more women, take on the 24-35 age cohort or offer them a promotion, which attracts a pay hike.

“I have heard instances of women who have been unproductive. They cannot concentrate on their work because they are helping kids with school work and managing the housework,” he says.

“This (unproductivity due to burdens of unpaid work) puts women at a disadvantage when negotiating for better terms of employment or even getting a promotion,” he adds.

Prof. Tom Nyamache, an economist proposes tax incentives for women to commensurate for unpaid work and lesser pay.

He also suggests bailouts for women in the informal sector as they are unlikely to access credit to revive their business when the epidemic ends.

“Ideally, women and men ought to have equal to access to economic opportunities. But deep rooted biases come in between. Employers have to do away with these biases if equal pay for equal work is to be achieved,” he says.

“Women and men have matching training and skills, and therefore, gender should never be a consideration in determining their pay scale,” states Prof Nyamache.