COVID-19 has widened gender gap in retirement savings, employment: Survey

Earlier in 2013, the TIAA survey found that each gender's confidence level of whether they're saving enough for retirement varied by only 9 percentage points. The 2022 study showed the gap had grown to 16 percentage points, mainly due to the impact of the pandemic.

In another survey conducted by Max Life Insurance in India in 2021, it was found that only 24 percent of the respondents considered saving for retirement as a financial priority, and 56 percent believed that savings will be exhausted within 10 years of retirement.

The survey revealed that the pandemic had further exacerbated long-standing issues around income generation. As per the survey, men had an overall retirement preparedness index of 44, and women were almost on a par with the retirement preparedness index of 43.

However, this was only representative of the urban population, mainly in Western India and the metros.

On the overall level in India, wage inequality and the burden of unpaid care have pushed more women out of employment and into poverty during the pandemic. Globally, and in India, more women have lost jobs during the pandemic.

According to a report published by the Center for Sustainable Employment at Azim Premji University, 7 percent of men compared to 47 percent of women lost their jobs during the first lockdown in 2020. Most did not return to work by the end of the year. Even in the informal sector, women were impacted far worse. During the pandemic years, rural Indian women in informal jobs accounted for 80 percent of job losses.

The socio-economic toll on women and girls can have long-term consequences. Policies and actions need to be targeted deliberately toward women to avoid the exodus of women from the workforce which could reverse not only gender equality gains, but GDP gains of the country.