Women during COVID pandemic

Over the past year, urban women were pushed into rural work. Between March 2020 to March 2021, the number of women employed in rural areas increased by 9.6 per cent, while those employed in urban areas fell by 19.6 per cent.
This shift was much lower amongst men, with male rural employment increasing by 0.8 per cent, and urban employment falling by 0.3 per cent.
As the second wave hit rural India with an unexpected ferocity, it washed away 5.7 million rural women’s jobs in April 2021.
Rural women formed nearly 80 per cent of job losses in April 2021 compared to just 11 per cent in April 2020.
Some early signs of recovery were seen in May 2021, as nearly 2.8 million rural women returned to employment (11 per cent of rural female workforce), even though 8.6 million rural men lost jobs (3.5 per cent of rural male workforce).