Abstract
The global pandemic of COVID-19 has had a profound impact on many spheres of social life across the world. One of them has been the deepening of social inequalities and the aggravating of discrimination based on gender. Emerging studies in the field of education and occupation systems point to the fact that women seem to have been particularly affected, along with layoffs in those sectors of the economy where female staffs prevail. Additionally, in many countries, the burden of combining professional careers and supporting the education of young children falls disproportionately on mothers. These transformations pose a challenge to meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, wherein gender equality is an important factor. This article uses official statistical data to examine gender and educational structures during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland, set against the backdrop of other European nations and analyzed in the context of sustainability. Have educational and gender inequalities been exacerbated as data from other countries suggest? In order to answer this question, the article traces changes in the education system in Poland and their implications for gender structures. The latter have also been affected by transformations on the labor market in various sectors of the economy, therefore, the second part of the analysis focuses on the labor market changes during the pandemic. The final section offers conclusions on the implications of the pandemic for the studied issues. Throughout the article, we apply the principles of unobtrusive research. Following the theoretical framework outlined in the first part of the paper, we carry out a descriptive analysis of existing statistical data collected by the Eurostat. These official statistics are supplemented by an overview of public opinion polls to allow for perspectives on structural changes, as they are perceived by those affected by them.
Highlights
One of the largest disruptions created by the COVID-19 pandemic occurred in the education system, affecting around 1.6 billion students worldwide
Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) in 1987, and it is the most widely used nowadays.) It is listed as a separate goal (sustainable development goal 4 (SDG 4): quality education), along with gender equality (SDG 5) and reduced inequalities (SDG 10)
The following section reviews potential threats to achieving these goals caused by the coronavirus pandemic, looking at selected indicators relevant to the subject of this article (Not all indicators seem relevant, e.g., SG 4 covers, among others, tertiary educational attainment and adult participation in learning which will not be discussed .) (Not all indicators seem relevant, e.g., SG 4 covers, among others, tertiary educational attainment and adult participation in learning which will not be discussed .)
Summary
Sustainable development goal 4 seeks to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. This goal, apart from seeking to ensure equitable and quality education through all stages of life, envisages the elimination of gender and income disparities in access to education. Progress within this target is measured with indicators such as participation in early childhood education, the number of early leavers from education and training, as well as underachievement in reading, maths and science. There is evidence from some countries that lockdown measures introduced in the aftermath of the pandemic negatively affected each of these indicators
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