She-cession: The amplification of gender inequalities in the EU labour market since the Covid-19 pandemic.

This thesis is a literature study that explores the Covid-19 she-cession as a phenomenon within the broader context of long-term gender inequalities in the European Union (EU) labor market. The research investigates the Covid-19 pandemic’s exacerbation of pre-existing gender disparities through the examination of both long-term intra-household and extra-household feminization trends. Analyzing the differential impacts on male and female dominated sectors, it is evident that this framework contrasts the she-cession with previous economic downturns, which were mainly considered as man-cessions. This literature study also examines the future implications for women’s labor market participation as the economy enters the post-pandemic phase and considers the role played by EU policies in mitigating the pandemic’s effect on women’s employment. Over-all this thesis highlights the amplification of long-term feminization trends in the EU during the pandemic, especially within female-dominated sectors such as healthcare, education, hospitality and tourism as well as retail, with an emphasis on the need for equitable labor force reforms that lead to a gender-balanced economic recovery.