Gender analysis of the experiences of the employees in the service sector in the public and private areas during the COVID-19 outbreak process: Manisa province case

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has influenced the service industry in our country as greatly as all around the world. Within this period, the service industry employees had to continue to work actively in both public and private spheres. While sector employees work of their shifts in the public sphere during the daytime with increasing working hours; they continue to keep night shifts in the private sector owing to the reasons such as the closure of schools and the ever-increasing importance of hygiene conditions. It has been referred in many studies that the responsibilities of women and men in this double shift have increased and gender is an important variable in the explanation of this case. Thereafter, the main purpose of the thesis is to determine the responsibilities imposed on individuals in the context of gender in the pandemic process in private and public sphere and how the new-emerging needs are being met. Considering that both quantitative and qualitative data were needed, various research techniques were employed. A digital survey was conducted across Turkey to analyze the general conditions experienced by service sector employees based on statistical findings. Subsequently, considering the analysis results, a suitable sample group was selected within the scope of Manisa province to gather qualitative data. In-depth interviews were then conducted with the group members. In the explanation of the pandemic process with academic efforts, besides studies that include quantitative statistical findings, qualitative studies that focus on human experiences will also contribute. Therefore, in this mixed-method research, the aim was to explore the experiences of groups that felt the most pronounced impact of the epidemic process on them. The study also seeks to contribute to the field by examining the issue from a gender perspective. Keywords: COVID-19, Pandemia, Service Sector, Gender, Care Labor