The gendered business impact of COVID-19 in the Pacific

The coronavirus outbreak has had a devastating economic impact in the Pacific, with female-owned/led businesses disproportionately affected.

Over three quarters (77 percent) of female-owned/led businesses reported a significant decline in revenue in contrast to 65 percent of male-owned/led businesses.

The results were published in a women-focused report in Pacific Trade Invest (PTI) Pacific Business Monitor.

The PTI Pacific Business Monitor is a regular survey that tracks the sentiment of businesses from across the Pacific region.

The July survey of businesses from across the Pacific region found that female-owned/led businesses are being hit hard by the pandemic. 71 percent of female-owned/led businesses reported that the pandemic had a very negative impact to their business in contrast to 57percent of male-owned/led businesses

“The uncertainty and having no definite timeline is extremely challenging for businesses, especially female-owned/led businesses,” said Caleb Jarvis, Trade & Investment Commissioner, PTI Australia.

Jarvis said: “Although the majority of the Pacific remains free of COVID-19, the economic impact of closed borders has been debilitating, especially for Pacific nations that are reliant on tourism and it’s a sector that has a high proportion of female employees.

“We see this uncertainty reflected in the survey, with over a quarter (32%) of female-led businesses unable to say when their businesses will be back to pre-COVID levels, nearly double that of male-owned/led businesses (17 percent).

“It’s concerning to see that more female-owned/led businesses have had to temporarily close (41%) in comparison to their male counterparts (29 percent). Consequently, female-owned/led businesses are less confident their business will survive compared to 25 percent of male-owned/led businesses,” said Jarvis.

Female-owned/led businesses are more likely to have barriers preventing them from actioning initiatives to help support their business (65 percent vs. 38 percent male-owned/led businesses), with the main barriers reported being a lack of financial access (33 percent) and lack of government support/stimulus (31 percent).

A higher proportion of female-owned/led businesses have accessed government support, (46 percent female-owned/led businesses vs. 26 percent of male-owned businesses). However, a third of female-owned/led businesses are extremely dissatisfied with the government response (33 percent very dissatisfied vs. 14 percent male-owned) indicating that the support received has not been sufficient.

“The private sector will be key in rebuilding Pacific economies. It’s going to be a very long road ahead and it’s important that as donors and partners look at how to support the Pacific’s private sector, the gendered impact of COVID-19 is taken into account and the realities that women-owned businesses in the Pacific are facing,” said Jarvis.

 

Photo source Solomon Star