Published Paper Details:

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely altered societies and labor markets. Within weeks, severe constraints on mobility were imposed via border and business closures, quarantines, and movement restrictions. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating consequence on every aspect of life. Migrant workers, especially women, are more vulnerable and face many deprivations from being poor and from their occupation as informal workers. Women face losing their livelihood, facing human rights violations, and contracting COVID-19. Women are severely affected more because, in many contexts, they are considered less productive and consequently occupy a lower position and rank in society. Female-headed families and groups are significantly affected by COVID-19 and cannot meet household needs due to the lack of economic options. The pandemic also exacerbates prevalent gender inequalities and disparities. It is represented as a gendered pandemic in amalgamation with its classed and racialized dimensions. COVID-19 has severely impacted women and girls in health, economy, social protection, and gender-based violence. There persists gender wage gap, and migrant women disproportionately work in more precarious, insecure, and informal employment that receives low pay. Women are more vulnerable to experience violence within workplaces, and migrant women, particularly those working informally, face more hardships and have little to no social protection. This paper analyzes how the global health crisis amplifies existing gender dynamics and creates new gender-biased outcomes that disproportionately impact migrant workers. The focus of the study also examines the health, social and domestic care services that migrant women workers provide and are essential during the pandemic.