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Is coronavirus widening the gender divide and disadvantaging women?

Around the world, the coronavirus lockdown has closed schools and forced hundreds of millions to work from home. But the lockdown has also had an unintended consequence - catapulting some women back to the 1950s.

The coronavirus lockdown, which in the UK began at the end of March, has left households everywhere having to make do with new arrangements, such as a lack of childcare.

But new research from the University of Cambridge suggests that where there is a man in the household, more women are doing the heavy lifting when it comes to childcare, homeschooling and home care - often to the detriment of their own careers and well being.

So in this a temporary set back or, with an increasingly uncertain jobs market ahead, could this be one legacy of Covid19?Β 

Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and businesswoman and former Virgin Money CEO Jayne-Anne Gadhia join Kirsty Wark to discuss how the virus has changed family dynamics and highlighted the gender divide.

Release date:

Duration:

7 minutes