Actual challenges of labor market and their gender implications for employment
Research Article
Acknowledgments
The study was carried out within the framework of research under the State assignment «Gender aspects of socio-economic dynamics of modern Russia» (No. 0165–2019–0011).
How to Cite
Khotkina Z.A. Actual challenges of labor market and their gender implications for employment. Population. 2020. Vol. 23. No. 2. P. 136-148. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19181/population.2020.23.2.12 (in Russ.).
Abstract
The main research issues discussed in the article concern the impact of technological and epidemiological challenges on the employment of women and men, as well as the reasons for their asymmetric impact on employees depending on gender. The choice of these two challenges is determined, on the one hand, by their relevance, and on the other, by the fact that, although they are fundamentally different in both character and duration of their impact on the labor market, the consequences of their impact on women’s employment are the same and in both cases lead to job losses. The article shows that the same consequences for women’s employment from such different challenges are not accidental. This is due to the fact that the causes and risk factors of priority job loss for women as a result of the technological and epidemiological challenges are identical, since they are based on gender segregation of employment in the labor market, which divides jobs and entire industries into «male» and «female». In the technological challenge, the reason for the priority and more widespread loss of jobs by women is due to the fact that they are more often than men engaged in routine work in which is a large proportion of repetitive operations that are easy to automate and delegate to robots or artificial intelligence (AI). During the epidemiological challenge, more “female” than “male” jobs fell into the risk zone of unemployment, because as a result of self-isolation most enterprises and organizations in the service sphere, such as shopping centers, hairdressers and beauty salons, hotels and boarding houses, museums and libraries were closed, as well as airports and travel agencies — and all these enterprises employed mainly women. On account of the high risk of unemployment, these activities were included in the “List of economy sectors most affected by coronavirus” developed by the Government to provide priority targeted support. However, according to the information from the Ministry of Finance, less than a fifth of the service sector organizations and individual entrepreneurs will be able to receive this assistance, and therefore it is unlikely to avoid an increase in female unemployment.
Keywords:
employment, unemployment, labor market challenges, gender, segregation, pandemic, technology
References
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5. Zhenshchiny i rabota v chetvertoy promyshlennoy revolyutsii [Women and Work in the Fourth Industrial Revolution]. Report of the World Economic Forum. Available at: http://reports.weforum.org/future-of-jobs-2016/ (Accessed: 1 April 2020). (in Russ.)
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9. V SShA za mesyats rabotu poteryali boleye 20 mln chelovek [In the USA over 20 million people have lost their jobs within a month]. Available at: https://www.dw.com/ru/в-сша-за-месяц-работу-по-теряли-более-20-млн-человек/ (Accessed: 17 April 2020). (in Russ.)
10. Mintrud nazval chislo zayavleniy o priznanii bezrabotnym [The Ministry of Labor announced the number of applications for recognition as unemployed]. Available at: https://rns.online/economy/Mintrud-nazval-chislo-zayavlenii-o-priznanii-bezrabotnim-2020–04–15/ (Accessed: 17 April .2020). (in Russ.)
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12. Boleye 40% moskvichey prekratili rabotat’ iz-za koronavirusa [More than 40% of Muscovites stopped working because of the coronavirus]. Available at: https://www.rbc.ru/society/14/04/2020/5e95bba19a7947449c1b2dab (Accessed: 17 April 2020). (in Russ.)
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Article
Received: 25.03.2020
Accepted: 12.06.2020
Citation Formats
Other cite formats:
APA
Khotkina, Z. A. (2020). Actual challenges of labor market and their gender implications for employment. Population, 23(2), 136-148. https://doi.org/10.19181/population.2020.23.2.12
Section
EMPLOYMENT AND LABOR MARKET ISSUES
