Psychosocial consequences of COVID-19 measures on older women and working mothers in Chile

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic and the health crisis have highlighted and accentuated certain socioeconomic, age and gender inequalities in Chile. In this qualitative article, we ask ourselves about the transformations and diverse practices developed by two groups of different ages women in response to the policies and measures adopted in Chile during the COVID-19 pandemic. From a qualitative approach, we worked with semi-structured interviews with working mothers and older women and carried out an analysis guided by grounded theory. The results show that COVID-19 measures produced several disruptions in the daily lives of both groups, especially in their routines, use of space and time; the reconfiguration and reduction of their social and support networks to cope with the crisis, and bodily and emotional effects caused by the overload of various reproductive, care and productive tasks. We conclude that women themselves generated diverse strategies to confront the crisis experienced in the pandemic, without any action by the State to address gender and age inequalities.