ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a comparative and intersectional perspective on the labour market impacts of the Covid-19 crisis in Europe. Specifically, it examines gender differences in negative employment outcomes during the pandemic while accounting for the role of individual characteristics, including education, employment sector, contract type and presence of children, as well as cross-national variations within Europe. By examining how a crisis, specifically a global health shock, interacts with pre-existing gendered labour market structures and welfare systems to either reinforce or reshape inequalities, this study highlights the pandemic's unequal impact across different welfare regimes. Findings suggest that in the immediate aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, the risk of a generalised “she-cession” has been avoided. However, the analyses also reveal a more nuanced picture, where vulnerabilities were shaped not solely by gender but also by the intersection of individual characteristics, particularly education, employment contract type and employment sector, with country-level institutions and welfare models. Ultimately, the study emphasises that understanding employment outcomes in times of crisis requires careful consideration of both individual vulnerabilities and the socio-institutional conditions they are embedded in.
