Health inequalities and mental health issues during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Measures to control the virus have fallen unevenly across society – including the impact on women and key workers, as well as the wider implications for people’s mental health.

Control on the impact of pandemic on the women and key workers health has fallen unevenly across the society including the sever along lasting impactions on people’s mental health.

The impact on women

Research is showing that job losses, school closure and furloughing have all had a severe negative impact on women’s health, especially mothers. It has also been surveyed that fathers were caring for their children twice as many hours as they did 5 years ago.

Despite this, mothers are more likely to leave their paid jobs, reduce their working hours or dedicate their working hours at home caring for their children instead during the pandemic period 2020-2021. 

The University of Essex identified that women are more likely to experience a negative impact on their mental wellbeing due to increased family responsibilities, financial worries and loneliness. This burden is even greater for single parents as highlighted during the first lockdown:

‘We so far seem to be pretty stuck on the basics. Worrying about finding food and whether we will run out. Taking three children round a supermarket when they touch everything, run around, put their fingers up their noses, it’s very stressful!

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