In 2021, there will be 13 million fewer women globally in employment compared to 2019, while men’s employment will have recovered to 2019 levels, according to data from the International Labour Organisation.

Globally, women have been disproportionately hit in terms of job-losses with 4.2% of women’s employment lost as a result of the pandemic compared to 3% of men’s employment.

ILO forecasts show that, globally, in 2021 women’s employment is expected to rise by 3.3% compared to 2020 levels, or 41 million, while men’s employment is expected to grow by 3%, or 59 million. Even though the projected employment growth rate in 2021 for women exceeds that of men, it will, nonetheless, be insufficient to bring women back to pre-pandemic employment levels, because of deeper employment losses experienced by women in 2020 (-4.2%).

Women’s employment in 2021 is projected to be 1.27 billion, while men’s is forecasted to reach 2.01 billion.

Approximately 43% of the world’s working-age women will be employed in 2021, compared to 68% of working-age men. In other words, in 2021 women will be still 25.4% less likely to be in employment than men.

In 2021, in Asia and the Pacific, men’s employment is projected to surpass its pre-crisis level, while women’s is likely to remain below its 2019 level.

In Europe and Central Asia, women have lost 2.5% of their jobs due to the pandemic and are expected to recover 0.6% of them in 2021.

Meanwhile, in Africa, women’s employment growth in 2021 is expected to more than offset the job losses resulting from Covid-19. However, job quality and dependence on the informal economy remain major concerns.

In the Arab States, despite favourable prospects for women’s employment in 2021, women continue to be five times less likely to be in employment than men.

Meanwhile, in the Americas, women’s employment declined by 9.4% as a result of the pandemic, representing the largest decline across all regions.