COVID-19, Remote Work and Labor-Market Inequalities in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review and Lessons for the Future

Olivier Habimana, Jacqueline Muhawenayo and Almas Heshmati

No 1846, GLO Discussion Paper Series from Global Labor Organization (GLO)

Abstract: This systematic review examines the relationship between COVID-19, remote work and labor-market inequalities in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using a structured review of empirical studies and reports, the paper synthesizes evidence on unequal access to remote work, labor-market outcomes and their distributional consequences across workers and households. The findings show that the ability to work remotely was highly unevenly distributed. Workers with higher education, higher socioeconomic status, formal employment and occupations compatible with digital work were more likely to have access to remote work, while informal, low-skilled and contact-intensive workers faced greater constraints. These differences were reinforced by unequal access to digital infrastructure, reliable electricity, devices and suitable home-working conditions. The pandemic generated substantial and heterogeneous employment, earnings and income losses, with women, young workers, less-educated workers and informal workers often experiencing greater and more persistent disruptions. Evidence also indicates that employment recovery did not necessarily restore pre-pandemic earnings or job quality, contributing to wider distributional inequalities. Overall, the review shows that remote work functioned as an unequally distributed form of labor-market resilience, reflecting and potentially reinforcing existing inequalities.

Keywords: COVID-19; labor-market inequalities; remote work; Sub Saharan Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D63 J21 O55 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-iue and nep-lma
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Working Paper: COVID-19, Remote Work and Labor-Market Inequalities in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review and Lessons for the Future (2026)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:glodps:1846

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