IWD 2021: Progress Towards Gender Equity in the Fashion and Retail Industry has been Damaged by Covid-19
Nearly a year ago, non-essential retailers closed, and stay at home orders began nationally to contain the spread of Covid-19. What seemed like a temporary measure had very lasting consequences, with permanent closures triggering a myriad of job losses. Covid-19 related job losses have undeniably impacted people across the country, The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) estimates a total of 182,564 job losses in 2020 while job losses have already racked up to 19,598 in the first two months of 2021. Of those impacted by the job losses heavily, are women. Figures suggest that the nation is heading into a #shecession where women are disproportionately affected by crises relative to the economy. In the economic recovery process, which follows Covid-19, the Government and sectors must invest in women to prevent progress made towards gender equity from regressing. Particular focus must be paid now to the fashion and retail sector as the pandemic risks stripping any progress made due to the lack of support provided to fashion creatives.
The lockdown pattern challenged the survival of non-essential retail stores while hygiene and social-distancing rules understandably reshaped in-person shopping experiences. The retail industry has haemorrhaged employees over the pandemic. The subsequent boom in online fast-fashion has seldom resolved the unemployment crisis, as for every ten jobs lost in physical stores, roughly three emerge online. The jobs emerging in e-tailers may not match the skills employees in physical retail have. Arguably, the administration of Arcadia contributed heavily towards the shecession in UK retail. The shop workers’ union, Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW), delivered a retail recovery plan ahead of the 2021 Budget. It claimed that 80 per cent of staff working across the Arcadia group and Debenhams were women. To put this in perspective, of the 25,000 staff members, 20,000 were women. As stories were churned out on Boohoo buying the IP rights of Debenhams and Topshop’s acquisition into ASOS, those formally employed by high street giants suddenly found themselves made redundant as neither deals included brick and mortar retail stores and its employees. Topshop employees allegedly found out through social media about their redundancy.
The recent Budget 2021 announcements also provided little-to-no respite for retail workers or those working in sectors dominated by women. Furlough and business holidays delay the inevitable continuation of crises impacting the industry, and as Drapers described, ‘kick the can down the road’ until the damage is irreversible. In advance of the Budget, various groups stressed the importance of investing in sectors with a high level of women to aid the UK’s economic recovery. A social enterprise based in Liverpool, The Women’s Organisation, called on the Government to invest £1.6bn to support over 2m women in the UK. Moreover, the PwC Women in Work Index found that the UK could see a £48bn boost in the economy by investing in and increasing women in work. Unfortunately, it seems the Government is far from investing in women as sectors dominated by women, such as health and social care, were absent from the Budget entirely. Fashion and textiles are also absent sectors from the budget and primarily employ women. Lead by Fashion Roundtable, the don't make fashion history campaign is backed by the leading female talent in the Fashion industry and urges the Government to act and save an industry contributing £35bn to UK GDP from potential decimation.
Foundations of the #shesession do predate Covid-19. The widening of the gender pay gap has been a topic of conversation in the fashion and retail industry since private and voluntary organisations of over 250 employees were mandated by the Equality Act 2010 in 2017 to publish data on their gender pay gap. Recent findings, however, indicate that tackling the gender pay gap is a low priority in Britain post-Covid-19. The lack of prioritisation is also demonstrated via the current sixth-month suspension to enforce gender pay gap regulations. Fast-fashion brands such as Misguided have previously acquiesced their role in upholding the gender pay gap in fashion by revealing a 46 per cent median pay gap. While the pandemic will impact data in the 2020/2021 gender pay gap report, it will likely indicate that the gender pay gap is worsening.
Suppose women are not prioritised in the economic recovery plan. In that case, we could see the reversal of gender equity across many industries, and the fashion and retail industry must fight this. Crucially, sectors must look inwards and challenge areas that disadvantage women from all backgrounds. For instance, addressing recruitment bias is a massive step towards welcoming more Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, LGBT+ and disabled women into various industries where they are underrepresented. A switch to flexible work patterns and improved part-time positions will allow women to have more varied choices when balancing their career with other responsibilities. The Trade Union Congress have campaigned heavily for this transition for years, and Anna Whitehouse - mother and author - has stressed agile work models in her #FlexAppeal campaign. Other areas, such as digital inclusion, are critical as more companies embrace the remote-work model. Closure of the gender gap in digital inclusion will mean more accessible opportunities for women in work.
Ultimately, the pandemic has gendered consequences, and industries must work harder to remove new and pre-existing barriers women face in the workplace. A damaging #shecession is avoidable if women are represented and invested in.
By Maliha Reza