BLOG SURF
KATHMANDU, MARCH 30
The pandemic is putting pressure on small enterprises, which are disproportionately owned or controlled by men. The right policies could help close the gender gap.
Sustaining firms and protecting livelihoods has become a very challenging task for policy makers and societies during the ongoing pandemic.
Studies have shown that to get through hard times such as these, families may sell their most precious assets to cope.
When this is done, there is a clear gender gap when it comes to the ownership of and rights related to assets.
Men are more likely to have the exclusive right to sell or bequeath several types of assets. In addition to leveraging on assets, adjustments in the operation of enterprises – including self-employment – is another coping mechanism that could cushion families from the negative impacts of economic shocks, but at the same time it could also magnify existing gender inequalities.
Household surveys conducted in 2015 in several countries shed light on this topic, particularly on the question of who owns non-agricultural enterprises.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 31, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
