Covid pandemic has provided flexibility for workers, but threatens to hit female workforce hard. Getty Images
Covid pandemic has provided flexibility for workers, but threatens to hit female workforce hard. Getty Images
Covid pandemic has provided flexibility for workers, but threatens to hit female workforce hard. Getty Images
Covid pandemic has provided flexibility for workers, but threatens to hit female workforce hard. Getty Images

British working women at 'coronavirus crossroads'


Paul Carey
  • English
  • Arabic

Covid-19 threatens to reverse decades of progress for working women while also causing a dramatic shift in culture that could help them thrive.

A report has found British women are at a "coronavirus crossroads" in the workplace.

The government should lock in the positive changes with a law requiring almost all jobs to allow flexible working, said the report, which was issued on Britain's Equal Pay Day - the date on which the gender pay gap means women effectively start working for free until the year-end.

"Throughout the last century, crises comparable to the pandemic have been forks in the path of history," said Sam Smethers, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, a leading women's rights group which issued the report.

"The coronavirus crisis puts us at a crossroads again, and it is clear that this applies to the gender pay gap."

Covid-19 has disproportionately hit women's careers, with studies finding they are more likely to work in sectors badly impacted by the pandemic, and they are picking up a heavier load of unpaid childcare and chores than men.

Britain's gender gap in hourly pay narrowed to 11.5% in 2020 from 13.1% in 2019, according to the latest data, though the Fawcett Society said the figures do not reflect the fact that many women had cut their hours to do childcare during lockdown.

While the pandemic poses serious threats to women's workplace equality, the dramatic rise in home-working and flexible arrangements could benefit mothers who often struggle to combine work and childcare, Friday's report said.

There are also signs of progress in data showing that fathers doubled the amount of time they spent doing childcare under lockdown, though women were still doing more.

However, the report warned that women would only benefit if the government takes steps to cement in the positive changes and protect female workers from discrimination.

Meanwhile, UK finance minister Rishi Sunak plans to announce a squeeze on public sector pay to help bring government spending under control.

A three-year pay freeze could save the government £23bn by 2023, or £15bn if National Health Service workers are not included, according to a report from the Centre for Policy Studies.

The Young Women's Trust, a feminist organisation, called for action in response to the pandemic, including launching a state jobs and training programme for young women and requiring employers to publish redundancy data by gender.

Women's rights group Equality Now backed the calls for change, adding that black and other ethnic minority women were also being hit hard by the pandemic's economic fallout.

"Covid has shone a spotlight on equality disparities," said Alexandra Patsalides, a lawyer at the group.

"Now is the time for the government, policymakers and employers to truly revolutionise their policies and mechanisms so as to ensure greater opportunities and support to women from all backgrounds."

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How being social media savvy can improve your well being

Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.

As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.

Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.

Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.

Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.

However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.

“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.

People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULTS

5pm: Watha Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (Dirt) 2,000m

Winner: Dalil De Carrere, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Mohamed Daggash (trainer)

5.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 70,000 (D) 2,000m

Winner: Miracle Maker, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer

6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner: Pharitz Al Denari, Bernardo Pinheiro, Mahmood Hussain

6.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner: Oss, Jesus Rosales, Abdallah Al Hammadi

7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,400m

Winner: ES Nahawand, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash

7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,000m

Winner: AF Almajhaz, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi

8pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,000m

Winner: AF Lewaa, Bernardo Pinheiro, Qaiss Aboud.

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

Results

5pm: Wadi Nagab – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Al Falaq, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ahmed Al Shemaili (trainer)

5.30pm: Wadi Sidr – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel

6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: AF Fakhama, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash

6.30pm: Wadi Shees – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Mutaqadim, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami

7pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 – Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Bahar Muscat, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami

7.30pm: Wadi Tayyibah – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Poster Paint, Patrick Cosgrave, Bhupat Seemar

Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions

The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The biog

Family: wife, four children, 11 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren

Reads: Newspapers, historical, religious books and biographies

Education: High school in Thatta, a city now in Pakistan

Regrets: Not completing college in Karachi when universities were shut down following protests by freedom fighters for the British to quit India 

 

Happiness: Work on creative ideas, you will also need ideals to make people happy

The Settlers

Director: Louis Theroux

Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz

Rating: 5/5

Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale

Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni

Director: Amith Krishnan

Rating: 3.5/5

Brief scoreline:

Liverpool 5

Keita 1', Mane 23', 66', Salah 45' 1, 83'

Huddersfield 0

Company Profile:

Name: The Protein Bakeshop

Date of start: 2013

Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani

Based: Dubai

Size, number of employees: 12

Funding/investors:  $400,000 (2018) 

Low turnout
Two months before the first round on April 10, the appetite of voters for the election is low.

Mathieu Gallard, account manager with Ipsos, which conducted the most recent poll, said current forecasts suggested only two-thirds were "very likely" to vote in the first round, compared with a 78 per cent turnout in the 2017 presidential elections.

"It depends on how interesting the campaign is on their main concerns," he told The National. "Just now, it's hard to say who, between Macron and the candidates of the right, would be most affected by a low turnout."

UAE v Gibraltar

What: International friendly

When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

Match info:

Wolves 1
Boly (57')

Manchester City 1
Laporte (69')

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Abu Dhabi GP weekend schedule

Friday

First practice, 1pm 
Second practice, 5pm

Saturday

Final practice, 2pm
Qualifying, 5pm

Sunday

Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps), 5.10pm

Monster Hunter: World

Capcom

PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Persuasion
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The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)

You Were Never Really Here

Director: Lynne Ramsay

Starring: Joaquim Phoenix, Ekaterina Samsonov

Four stars