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    Gruppenfoto - Arbeit und Fürsorge
    AF Team

    ​​​​​​The Impact of COVID-19 on the Economic and Social Situation of Women in Berlin

    Abstract

    We are in a state of exceptionalism with the Corona pandemic, which makes existing gender inequalities more visible than ever. Initial research findings show: The crisis is apparently burdening women - and mothers in particular - more than men. For this reason, the Berlin Senate for Health, Care and Equality commissioned the WZB with a study to investigate the short-term and medium-term effects of the Corona pandemic on the social and economic situation of women in Berlin.

    Study objective
    Four key questions will be addressed in this study:

    1) What is the impact of COVID-19 on gender inequalities in the labor market, in the adoption of care work, and in subjective well-being?

    2) What are the socio-demographic differences?

    3) What are the differences within Berlin?

    4) What policy measures are needed to compensate for possible disadvantages?

    Based on the empirical findings, concrete political and societal recommendations for action will be derived to support policy makers in further dealing with the pandemic.

    Design of the study

    The study consists of four interrelated subprojects, which are partly based on the online survey "corona-alltag.de" conducted by the WZB:

    1. In a Berlin-specific special evaluation of the three survey waves of the quantitative online survey "corona-alltag.de", we will examine the short-term (March-August 2020) effects of the corona pandemic for women and men in Berlin.
    2. Within the scope of this study, we will survey the study participants* from Berlin a fourth time. This fourth wave of the survey will take place in March 2021 to assess the medium-term impact of the pandemic one year after its onset.
    3. guided interviews with experts from various sectors of society will be used to supplement and deepen the subjective perceptions and information provided by Berliners. We will talk to representatives of both the industry and the trade unions, as well as to employees of welfare organizations, women's shelters, job centers and civil society organizations.
    4. The project is complemented by the inclusion of administrative data on changes in working hours, short-time work, unemployment, etc. in Berlin.