Thread by @thesundaytimes

As the first lockdown took hold, a worrying picture for women started to emerge, writes @rebeccacmyers #IWD2021 thetimes.co.uk/article/how-co…

There was a bitter truth to the now infamous “Stay home. Save lives” government advert. The cartoon image showed four households, with women homeschooling children, looking after a baby and cleaning, while the only man was seen relaxing on a sofa

Women were furious at the depiction, but it was a dual frustration: yes, it was sexist, but it was also the reality for countless women who have spent the pandemic doing the bulk of childcare and housework

The Institute for Fiscal Studies produced a study showing that, as the nation attempted to juggle working from home and homeschooling, mothers were able to do only one hour of uninterrupted work for every three hours done by fathers 🕒

The speed with which everyone reverted to gender stereotypes was striking, says the @WOWisGlobal founder and chief executive, @JudeKelly_. Even with partners, she says, women have taken on the majority of the homeschooling

This trend is apparent in younger generations too, with girls doing more cooking, cleaning, shopping and looking after siblings during the pandemic than boys, according to research published by the children’s charity Theirworld

Caroline Nokes, chairwoman of the women and equalities committee, says: “Recovery from the pandemic might well be the biggest challenge facing women since the Pankhursts took up the struggle to get women the vote”

The pandemic is having a “devastating” impact on women, the @fawcettsociety declared in a report in November. @felicia_willow is concerned about what happens next, especially with 140,000 more women than men on furlough

“The fear is that, if the same approach is taken to redundancy decisions as has been taken to furlough, it is going to be women who bear the brunt of that as well,” @felicia_willow said

“There are extraordinary levels of frustration and anger now towards a government that just doesn’t seem to care that we’re about to wake up in a Margaret Atwood novel,” said @mother_pukka

The situation is even worse for ethnic minorities, says @Halima_Begum. “When we say women have been hit hardest, it’s poorer women, it’s black and ethnic minority women,” she said

However, the pandemic could give us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to change our workplaces for the better, should we seize it. A revolution could happen at home, too. Read how: thetimes.co.uk/article/how-co…