LIMA, March 7, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - When the pandemic struck Peru and forced the

economy to shut down in an attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus,
women were some of the hardest hit.

   Silvia Munoz lost her job as a domestic worker, while Yolanda Chambi was
forced to close her shop selling traditional Peruvian clothes.

   Both were among millions of Peruvian women to lose their income during the
pandemic, which exacerbated gender inequality.

   Theirs is a story seen throughout Latin America on the eve of
International Women's Day, where four million women remain unemployed even
after regional economies have reopened.

   When Covid struck, many women were forced to give up work to look after
sick family members and children as schools and creches were closed as part
of government restrictions.

   And while most have since returned to work, many have had to accept lower
salaries or even make do with working in the informal sector.

   Once the virus reached Peru in March 2020, "there was no work, there was
nothing," said Munoz, 65, speaking from her home in the working class Lima
neighborhood of Villa Maria del Triunfo.

   One thousand kilometers (620 miles) away in Puno on the shores of Lake
Titicaca, Chambi tells a similar story.

   "We lost all our earnings," she said.

   She used to sell clothes to locals for the Virgen de la Candelaria
festival that takes place on February 2 and involves traditional Andean music
and dancing.

   It has been canceled for the last two years due to Covid.

   Unable to sell her wares, Chambi could no longer afford the rent on her
home-cum-workshop.

   She was forced to move with her four children to the family home in the
countryside, where they grow potatoes, broad beans and other vegetables.

   While many countries in the region paid out benefits to those that lost
their jobs due to the pandemic, few people in Peru received such aid because
70 percent of the 33-million population works in the informal sector, and
very few -- especially the poor -- have bank accounts.

   - Gone back 10 years -

   The International Labor Organization says women have been
disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

   The ILO says 24 million women in Latin America lost their jobs during the
pandemic and as many men.

   But while only half a million men remain out of work, eight times as many
women do, "which contributes to amplifying the impact of the crisis on gender
inequality at work."

   Women's unemployment in the region is 12.4 percent, compared to just 8.3
percent for men.

   After years of steady progress, "the pandemic has taken us back more or
less to the figures from 10 years ago," Italo Cardnoa, the ILO chief for
Peru, told AFP.

   Sectors that traditionally employ a lot of women have been particularly
hard-hit by the pandemic, such as hotels, restaurants, services and the
informal sector.

   "The return of women to the labor market is much slower than for men,"
said Cardona.

   Daysi Falcon, 34, lost her job as an administrative assistant at a
manufacturing company in March 2021.

   She now sells prepared meals to acquaintances.

   She says her family members were "dying one after another from Covid," and
she spent months caring for them.

   - 'I feel powerless' -

   Many of those back in work have been forced to accept lower pay.

   A few months ago, Munoz, who supports her ill husband, started working
again four days a week -- but for 30 percent less pay than before.

   Having previously earned $25 a day, she now receives $17.50.

   "You have to accept it because behind me is someone who takes less," said
Munoz.

   "I feel powerless because you get older, you're not as strong as you used
to be and when you're older still, there's no pension."

   Chambi, who sells breakfasts by the roadside, is likewise pessimistic
about the future.

   "If the festival remains suspended, if our economy remains suspended, we
will have no earnings," she said.