Homeschooling, home office and few rays of hope: The corona pandemic is getting on the nerves of many Germans. According to a study, women are more affected by the situation than men.
Munich – The corona pandemic hits women more than men. This emerges from the new “Happiness Atlas” that the University of Freiburg has created with the support of the Süddeutsche Klassenlotterie (SKL).
In the Corona crisis, all Germans lost life satisfaction, but women significantly more than men. The happiness gap, the so-called “Happiness Gap”, between the sexes is 0.19 points. “In this currency, on the scale, that’s really important,” said Max Höfer, spokesman for the “SKL Glücksatlas”. From January 2020 to January 2022, a total of 15,200 Germans were interviewed by economists and social scientists by telephone. Among other things, they had to indicate their general satisfaction on a scale from 0 to 10.
Study shows a significant shift
Before the pandemic, women were happier than men – measured on average across all age groups. In the pandemic, women have clearly become unhappier. The great loss of happiness among young women up to the age of 25 is particularly surprising, according to study leader Bernd Raffelhüschen from the University of Freiburg.
Before Corona, women under the age of 25 were not only the happiest people in the republic, but also happier than young men of the same age. Her luck advantage was 0.2 points. During the corona pandemic, they lost 0.6 points, the young men only 0.3 points. The luck advantage has turned into the opposite during the pandemic.
Self-employed women also lose significantly more life satisfaction during the pandemic than self-employed men. They lose 0.8 points, while self-employed men only lose 0.4 points. The researchers explain the high dissatisfaction of female self-employed with economic worries. The Corona measures would have hit “female industries” in particular, such as body-related services, florists, daycare operators, interior designers, retail and cleaning trades.
Another result: the more drastic the corona measures, the greater the loss of happiness. In lockdown phases, for example, the happiness gap between women and men was up to 0.4 points (May 2021). Mothers were also particularly affected by the low mood. Those who were in full-time employment lost a whole lucky point in the pandemic.
The Atlas of Happiness was published by Deutsche Post until the end of 2021. The new partner since 2022 is the Süddeutsche Klassenlotterie. dpa
