Women in the Shadow of the Coronavirus: Collected Data for International Women’s Day 2021 סקירה כתיבה: עדו אבגר | אישור: אורלי אלמגור לוטן תאריך: כ"ג באדר תשפ"א, 7 במרץ 2021 הכנסת – מרכז המחקר והמידע www.knesset.gov.il/mmm Women in the Shadow of the Coronavirus: Compiled Data in Advance of Women’s Day 2021 Table of Contents 1. Physical and Mental Health ....................................................................................... 2 1.1 COVID-19 from a gender perspective ......................................................................... 2 1.2 Fear of Contracting the Virus, Loneliness, and Stress and Anxiety ......................... 4 1.2.1 Inquiries for Emotional Support during the Coronavirus Epidemic ..................... 5 1.2.2 Inquiries to the HMOs for Emotional Support ........................................................ 5 1.3 Screening Tests ............................................................................................................ 7 2. Employment ................................................................................................................ 8 2.1 Employment and Unemployment by Gender ........................................................... 9 2.2 Dismissal of women protected by law and reducing their hours .......................... 11 2.3 Government Grants for Self-Employed Persons ..................................................... 11 2.4 Work from Home ........................................................................................................ 12 2.5 Housework ................................................................................................................. 13 .3 Personal Safety and Victimization .......................................................................... 15 3.1 Domestic Violence ..................................................................................................... 17 Looking Ahead .................................................................................................................. 19 Sources .............................................................................................................................. 20 www.knesset.gov.il/mmm The Knesset—Research and Information Center 1 The coronavirus pandemic erupted approximately one year ago. It had (and still has) far-reaching health, financial, and social ramifications, some of which may be long-lasting. Even though every sector of society has been affected by the pandemic some way, there are differences between them in the effects they have felt. In advance of International Women’s Day, the Knesset Research and Information Center collected data from various spheres in which the pandemic's impact may have differed between women and men:* physical and mental health, employment, and personal safety. We should note that the challenges Israel faces are no different from those faced by other countries, and the differential impact of the pandemic on men and women in these arenas emerged in other countries, as well.1 * In this document, terms related to gender ("man" and "woman") will also be used when distinguishing between the sexes ("male" and "female"). www.knesset.gov.il/mmm The Knesset—Research and Information Center 2 1. Physical and Mental Health 1.1 COVID-19 from a gender perspective2 Through February 22nd 2021, there have been 5,585 coronavirus deaths in Israel. www.knesset.gov.il/mmm The Knesset—Research and Information Center 3 Among the deceased aged 80 and older, the number of men and women is nearly identical, but while women aged 80 and older make up nearly two-thirds of female coronavirus deaths, males aged 80 and older make up less than half of all the male deceased. In this context, it is important to note that differences exist in the life expectancies of men and women and that women comprise 60% of the population aged 80 and older. th Of the persons vaccinated by February 18 2021, the number of women vaccinated is comparable to their percentage in the general population (ages 16 and older). The data on first-dose vaccinations are similarly split. www.knesset.gov.il/mmm The Knesset—Research and Information Center 4 1.2 Fear of Contracting the Virus, Loneliness, and Stress and Anxiety Throughout 2020, the Central Bureau of Statistics conducted several studies that examined different aspects of civil resilience. The rates of women reporting feelings of loneliness, stress and anxiety, and fear of contracting the virus during the pandemic were higher than the corresponding rates among men in the study.3 In European Union countries, women have also reported having higher levels of stress, loneliness, and depression than men, as well as lower levels of optimism about their futures.4 www.knesset.gov.il/mmm The Knesset—Research and Information Center 5 1.2.1 Inquiries for Emotional Support during the Coronavirus Epidemic In July 2020, the Ministry of Health, along with the Israeli HMOs, developed a plan for providing emotional support via telephone during the pandemic, whereby every person is entitled to three phone calls to receive emotional support from mental health professionals. These conversations provide the caller with emotional support as well as tools for dealing with the fears, uncertainties, and stress created by the pandemic. In response to a query from the Research and Information Center, the Ministry of Health reported that the HMOs rolled out his service during July and August 2020 and that 13,000 calls had been received by the end of 2020. The Ministry did not have data broken down by gender. The Maccabi, Meuhedet, and Leumit HMOs granted us access to data broken down by gender regarding the people they insure who requested this service. According to the data, the majority of callers were women.5 *People insured by Maccabi Healthcare Services, Meuhedet Health Maintenance Organization, and Leumit Health Care. 1.2.2 Inquiries to the HMOs for Emotional Support www.knesset.gov.il/mmm The Knesset—Research and Information Center 6 According to data provided by Clalit Healthcare Services, Israel's largest HMO, around 60% of first visits by new patients (people who had not received mental health treatment since 2015) to mental healthcare clinics due to depression or anxiety (including the first intake meeting) in 2019 and 2020 were women. *People insured by Clalit Healthcare Services *People insured by Clalit Healthcare Services www.knesset.gov.il/mmm The Knesset—Research and Information Center 7 Between January and August 2020, there was a small decrease (−3%) in the number of visits of new patients in comparison to those months in the previous year. However, between September and December 2020, the number of new patient visits increased by 10% compared to the same months in the previous year. The breakdown of the data by gender shows the most notable change was among women—a decrease of around 5% for the period January–August and an increase of 13% between September and December, as opposed to increases of 1% and 5% among men, for the respective periods.6 In this regard, Clalit Healthcare Services stated in December 2020 that the mental healthcare system is characterized by lengthy wait times and therefore a long period of time may pass between a patient’s request and actual visit to the clinic, and that there had been a gradual increase in requests over the previous several months.7 A similar trend arises from the response from Maccabi Healthcare Services. Although this latter response did not include data, it did mention that at the beginning of the pandemic there was not a meaningful increase in the number of patients in Maccabi’s mental health departments, however as the crisis evolved, there was a gradual increase in the number of patients, including new patients.8 1.3 Screening Tests One of the main arenas where we sought to examine the effects of the coronavirus is preventative medicine, specifically screening tests for the early detection of illnesses. We were informed by Maccabi Healthcare Services and Meuhedet Health Maintenance Organization that there has been a decrease in performing screening tests during the pandemic, and specifically during Israel's first lockdown, which was imposed to stop the spread of the virus.9 Leumit Healthcare Services provided us with gender-segmented data regarding the completion of various screening tests in comparison to previous years.10 * the variations in the number of occult blood tests and colonoscopies followed similar patterns for both men and women, and therefore the figures for both sexes are presented together. www.knesset.gov.il/mmm The Knesset—Research and Information Center 8 2. Employment The coronavirus pandemic and the measures taken to try to prevent its spread have had significant ramifications for the labor market. In Israel, as in other countries, gender differences are characteristic of the labor market—both in terms of employment patterns of men and women (and specifically the number of working hours) and the existence of entire sectors characterized by an abundance of either male or female employees. Therefore, the coronavirus has had differing effects on men and women in the job market. Women make up the majority of employees in the health sector, which places them at a higher risk of contracting the coronavirus.11 Women make up two thirds of healthcare workers worldwide, including 85% of nurses and midwives.12 There is a notable majority of female employees in other sectors, which are characterized by frequent interactions between employees