Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on women entrepreneurs in Sukoharjo Regency

Introduction

The Head of the SME Cooperative Trade Office, Sukoharjo Iwan Setyono, agreed that many MSME players had become a pandemic which causes sluggish trade transactions (Bram, 2021). The running of MSMEs in Sukoharjo Regency is experiencing obstacles due to the outbreak of the coronavirus or COVID 19 (Putri & Trisnawati, 2020).

Humans carry out various economic activities to meet needs and satisfaction in life, such as production, distribution, and sale of goods or services to earn income and profit, all of these activities are called business activities. The primary victims of the COVID-19 outbreak are micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) compared to large companies because MSMEs do not have adequate resources, especially financial and managerial, and are not prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic which is likely to last much longer than expected (Bartik et al., 2020). MSMEs must innovate both in product and marketing. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on Indonesia’s domestic economy, namely a decline in people’s consumption and purchasing power, a decline in company performance, threats to the banking and financial sector, and the presence of MSMEs (Ministry of Finance, 2021). The Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) through the Center for Economic Research conducted an online survey from 10–31 July 2020 about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s incomes and recruited 1,548 households in 32 provinces as respondents. Most respondents were taken with the status of Household Workers, namely 79.7% and 20.3% of Business Households. The survey results show the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the household economy. It was found that both households and workers’ families experienced adversity and used their relatives’ savings, assets, and credit to overcome them.

Entrepreneurship is a field of business where the perpetrators have independence and positive relationships with other people to manage their business and develop it. The presence of this epidemic or virus has an impact or influence on the Indonesian people, not only the impact that occurs on physical health but also on the psychological condition of each individual and society. Brook et al. (2020) revealed several psychological impacts when a pandemic occurs that is felt by the community, such as post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, confusion, fear of affection, frustration, insomnia, and feeling powerless. The most severe condition in a person is the emergence of xenophobic cases; even suicide cases often occur because some people are afraid of being infected by the virus, which is considered the deadliest. The pandemic that has been going on since the beginning of 2020 has impacted various sectors. One of them is MSMEs in Jambi who feel a decrease in sales turnover of up to 80%. This makes MSME entrepreneurs have difficulty paying employees, inability to pay instalments from banks, and difficulty meeting daily needs. This causes MSME entrepreneurs to experience perceived stress in the form of sleep disturbances, headaches, digestive problems, and respiratory problems (Soetikno et al., 2021).

The term lifestyle was initially introduced by Max Weber. He said that social status, which is mainly determined by people’s lifestyles, is determined more by the way people consume rather than the way people produce (Weber, 1996). The coronavirus pandemic in Indonesia has an impact not only on the health of its people, but also on lifestyles due to various policies that apply to the handling of Covid-19. The results of an online survey conducted by Snapcart, on 17–28 March 2020 of 2,000 men and women aged 15–50 years in eight major cities in Indonesia (Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya, Medan, Palembang, Makassar, and Manado) shows that the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the lifestyle, work habits, and business of the Indonesian people, especially people in urban areas. More than half of this survey sample (54%) said they should postpone or cancel their business plans (Dianawanti, 2020).

During the Covid-19 pandemic, employers felt that working conditions had become more complicated and drastically impacted women entrepreneurs’ lives (Mustafa et al., 2021). In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic puts women entrepreneurs at significant risk of losing revenue and sales growth, causing profound economic effects (Muhammad et al., 2021). Until now, society still considers women as the number two role in gender equality. That statement causes women to feel inferior and impacts subordination to them (Sari & Fikri Zufar, 2021).

The following is data on the growth of the number of MSMEs spread across Sukoharjo from 2016 to 2020.

Table 1 shows an increase in the number of MSMEs in Sukoharjo Regency after the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, which was 993% compared to the previous year. This is the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic which has caused cases of Termination of Employment (PHK) so that people must still be able to meet their economic needs. His solution is to try various businesses, including becoming an MSME actor by opening a business (Agus, 2021).

MSMEs significantly contribute by expanding job opportunities and employment, forming Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and providing safety nets, especially for low-income people to carry out productive economic activities (Creativepreneurship, 2020).

Table 2 shows the number of workers by sector and gender in the Sukoharjo Regency at the end of 2020. The table shows that the number of male workers is more than that of female workers.

Table 3 shows a decrease in the number of workers in Sukoharjo Regency in 2019 compared to 2020 or after the Covid-19 pandemic. While in Table 1 it has been shown that the number of MSME actors in Sukoharjo Regency in 2020 increased compared to 2019.

Table 4 shows that the number of ultra-micro and micro-enterprises in Sukoharjo Regency is more female than male.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, working conditions became more difficult for all entrepreneurs, especially female entrepreneurs, drastically impacting their lives. Most women are forced to become entrepreneurs because they cannot manage household work and childcare. They struggle to meet basic needs during the pandemic while being empowered due to a lack of knowledge and resources (Mustafa et al., 2021). Based on this explanation, this study will explore the impact of Covid-19 on household income, lifestyle, mental health, and business sales from businesses managed by women.

Methods

This study uses qualitative research methods to collect, process, and analyze the research data. This study uses semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions (FGD) under a case study research design. FGD is a technique of collecting data which is usually carried out in qualitative research which aims to find the meaning of the theme according to the understanding of a group. This technique shows the purpose of a group from the results of discussions centred on a particular problem. Based on an approach to theory development, this research is inductively based on data found in the field which is then tested through continuous data collection. The strategy used is a case study which is a research in which the researcher explores a particular phenomenon (case) in a time and activity (program, event, process, institution or social group). Then, it collects detailed and in-depth information using various data collection procedures. The purpose of the case study is to obtain a complete and in-depth description of an entity. Case studies produce data for further analysis to make theories (Murdiyanto, 2020).

The writer who conducted the interview was Diya Annisa who is a female student. The credentials used were a research application letter from the university and the interviewer had experience and training in conducting research while studying at the university. For the two informants, the relationship was already established before the research began, for the others it was only when we were going to do the research. Participants knew the purpose of the research was for personal purposes. Characteristics that were reported about the interviewers were reason for and interest in the research topic. Purposive participant approach was adopted, face-to-face with nobody refusing to participate and non-participants were present. The focus group took place at the Polokarto District Office. The questions submitted had been tried out and no repeated interviews were conducted. During the interview process there were audio recordings and field notes. The focus group duration lasted 25 minutes 56 seconds. There was discussion of data saturation and transcripts were not returned to participants for comments or corrections.

This study used a purposive sampling technique, namely the technique of taking samples intentionally, and the author determined their samples that were not taken randomly. We selected participants through purposive sampling method because it is a non-probability sampling technique where the sample is chosen after meeting specific criteria. In this study, we asked women entrepreneurs for interviews and focus group discussions so that we selected our respondents purposively. Furthermore, previous studies have also applied purposive sampling techniques to explore the life experiences of women entrepreneurs during the Covid-19 pandemic (Mustafa et al., 2021). The sample consisted of seven women entrepreneurs who run their micro-businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and supporting informants, namely the Small and Medium Enterprises Cooperative Trading Office of Sukoharjo Regency, who is quite aware of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on women entrepreneurs in the Sukoharjo Regency.

Based on Muhammad et al. (2021), three types of businesses were chosen because of the large number of entrepreneurs involved in this business. In this study, the three types of businesses selected and the most widely cultivated in the Sukoharjo Regency are industrial, trade, and service businesses. The following are data on informants/resource persons who will be informants in this research. Table 5 below shows the details of the seven women entrepreneurs who became informants in this study.

Results and discussion

There are four data coders that encode data, namely household income (4 codes), lifestyle (3 codes), mental health (3 codes), and business sales (3 codes). Category 1 in the coding tree is household income with 4 codes (the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on household income, meeting necessities of life, adequacy of utility costs, management of children’s education). Category 2 in the coding tree is lifestyle with 3 codes (the Covid-19 pandemic affects lifestyle, fulfillment of basic needs, standard of living) Category 3 in the coding tree is mental health with 3 codes (the Covid-19 pandemic affects mental health, levels of stress and depression faced, feelings of hopelessness in running a business). Category 4 in the coding tree is business sales with 3 codes (Covid-19 pandemic affecting business sales, customer purchasing power, business existence). Themes are pre-identified and do not use software to manage data. Participants did not provide feedback on findings.

All women entrepreneurs answered that the Covid-19 pandemic had affected their household income compared to before the pandemic, where income after the Covid-19 pandemic decreased or less income was earned. This household income was the income generated by her and her husband,

Supporting informants explained that Covid-19 made women entrepreneurs in the Sukoharjo Regency experience a decrease in their household income.

Household income generated by women entrepreneurs with micro-scale businesses has decreased since the Covid-19 pandemic. This decrease in income is in line with the decline in the business it runs. This is in line with what Mustafa et al. (2021) said, that most women entrepreneurs experienced a decrease in income accompanied by the cessation of their business activities.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, all informants answered that the fulfilment of needs had changed. This is illustrated in the summaries of the conversations below.

The fulfilment of the living needs of women entrepreneurs who were not well managed is also found in research conducted by Christi and Rawun (2021). That research explains that the daily necessities of life for business actors came from sales, so if they did not trade, business actors could not meet the needs of family life.

Five informants explained that household income after the pandemic also affected the fulfilment of utility costs. This is illustrated in the summaries of the conversations below.

Two other businessmen said otherwise, explaining that utility costs were still being met. This is illustrated in the summaries of the conversations below.

Based on the interviews with these informants, it can be seen that most women entrepreneurs were affected by fulfilling their utility costs. Utility needs were limited so as not to cause a lot of expenditure where the income received during the Covid-19 pandemic was reduced. This is in line with research conducted by Mustafa et al. (2021), which stated that women entrepreneurs experienced a crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic and could not even afford to pay utility costs.

Three female entrepreneurs explained that household income after the Covid-19 pandemic affected their children’s education. This is illustrated in the summaries of the conversations below.

Three other entrepreneurs said that the Covid-19 pandemic had not affected their children’s education management. This is illustrated in the summaries of the conversations below.

Based on the interviews with these sources, four of the seven interviewees explained that the Covid-19 pandemic did not affect their children’s education management. However, three resource persons still said that Covid-19 impacted the control of children’s education, marked by the cost of tuition fees that were not discounted and the cost of internet quotas that increased due to the implementation of online learning. This is in line with research conducted by Mustafa et al., (2021), which states that women entrepreneurs were unable to meet educational needs which were characterized by not being able to pay school fees. They had difficulty in managing children’s education expenses.

Five female entrepreneurs explained that the Covid-19 pandemic had changed their lifestyle. Life was different now when compared to before the Covid-19 pandemic.

But Entrepreneur 6 was not so affected by his lifestyle after the Covid-19 pandemic. His family had been accustomed to living a simple life even before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Supporting informants explained that Covid-19 made women entrepreneurs’ lifestyles different due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Based on the results of these conversations, it can be seen that most female entrepreneurs experienced lifestyle changes since the Covid-19 outbreak. A decrease in income caused this lifestyle change that they became more frugal. This is in line with the results of research from Mustafa et al. (2021); those female entrepreneurs experienced a deteriorating lifestyle since the Covid-19 pandemic. This was marked by basic needs that were not appropriately met and the declining standard of living of women entrepreneurs.

Three women entrepreneurs said that the fulfilment of basic needs was not appropriately managed. This is illustrated in the summaries of the conversations below.

Meanwhile, four other entrepreneurs stated that basic needs could still be fulfilled during the current crisis. This is illustrated in the summaries of the conversations below.

Based on the results of the interview, it can be seen that four out of seven female entrepreneurs said that the Covid-19 pandemic did not affect the fulfilment of basic needs. Their families were still able to meet basic needs well. Meanwhile, the remaining three said that the pandemic affected meeting basic needs because they had to allocate reduced income during the Covid-19 pandemic properly. Our findings supported past studies by Sari and Fikri Zufar (2021), explaining that female entrepreneurs’ fulfilment of family needs had decreased. Savings also applied to other conditions that were considered unnecessary.

All female entrepreneurs admitted that their living standard was different from before the Covid-19 pandemic. They explained that there was a decline. This is illustrated in the summaries of the conversations below.

Women entrepreneurs’ living standard has decreased compared to before the Covid-19 pandemic. This standard of living was different because there was a decrease in the income received. Our findings supported past studies by Mustafa et al. (2021), that female entrepreneurs experienced a reduction in their standard of living after the Covid-19 pandemic. This decline was strengthened by experiencing a financial crisis so that they were unable to make purchases that were usually able to be made before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Four businesswomen explained that the Covid-19 pandemic had affected their mental health. This is illustrated in the summaries of the conversations below.

Three female entrepreneurs answered that the Covid-19 pandemic did not affect their mental health because they could try to accept what was happening and adapt well.

Supporting informants explained that the impact of Covid-19 caused female entrepreneurs in Sukoharjo Regency to affect their mental health. Many things happened during this pandemic that caused everyone to be shocked because they had never imagined it before.

Most female entrepreneurs had been affected by their mental health after the Covid-19 pandemic. This was characterized by a life that was not comfortable with the changes in living conditions. This is in line with what Kurniawan (2021) said, that women were not only a group who lost their sources of income and work. They also bear quite heavy reproductive impacts and workloads as individuals (social, economic, physical and mental) in managing the household and as members of society. This situation forces women to struggle to maintain the family economy, and create and maintain a viable business.

Five other entrepreneurs explained that they did not experience stress and depression because they could still handle it well regarding the state of their business during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Five female entrepreneurs did not experience stress or depression because they could accept and adapt to the changes. However, two women entrepreneurs still experienced stress in dealing with the changes. In line with the results of research from Sari and Fikri Zufar (2021), that a state of isolation due to Covid-19 and a decrease in income can trigger stress and emotion because women thought too much about the costs of daily living needs.

Three female entrepreneurs explained that they once thought that they were desperate to run their business because there were changes in business conditions that affected their lives.

Four other female entrepreneurs said they did not experience despair while running their businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic. This is supported by the surrounding conditions that required them to remain enthusiastic. This is illustrated in the summaries of the conversations below.

Most women entrepreneurs did not experience feelings of hopelessness in running their businesses. However, three interviewees still thought they should give up because of the changing circumstances in their business. In a study conducted by Mustafa et al. (2021), feelings of hopelessness in running a business were also found that the Covid-19 pandemic made women entrepreneurs despair because they could not get out of the financial crisis and did not get help from anywhere.

Five female entrepreneurs answered that business sales were significantly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This was marked by very reduced sales compared to before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Two other female entrepreneurs explained that the Covid-19 pandemic had not affected their business sales. This was because both entrepreneurs could sell their products stably during the crisis.

Supporting informants explained that the sales of businesses run by women entrepreneurs in Sukoharjo Regency had decreased, which caused their income to fall.

The Covid-19 pandemic had affected most female entrepreneurs’ sales of the businesses they run. Business sales had decreased compared to before the Covid-19 pandemic. This is in line with research conducted by Sangem (2020), that women entrepreneurs experienced a decline in sales which was their primary concern.

Four entrepreneurs explained that customers’ purchasing power was reduced during the Covid-19 pandemic. The reasons included the products they sold that were not needed during the pandemic crisis, customers who were also experiencing a decline in income, and the PPKM policy that urged stay at home and social distancing.

Three other female entrepreneurs said that the Covid-19 pandemic had not affected customers’ purchasing power. It was just that the way to sell now was different, namely online and serving sales from home. This is illustrated in the summaries of the conversations below.

Based on the results of these conversations, it can be seen that most of women entrepreneurs experienced a decrease in the purchasing power of customers for the products they offered during the Covid-19 pandemic. This is in line with the findings of Manolova et al. (2020), that the pandemic policy with the lockdown to suppress the spread of the coronavirus made businesses that are run vulnerable to a recession which was marked by a decline in the purchasing power of customers.

Five female entrepreneurs explained that the Covid-19 pandemic threatened the existence of their businesses because the sales of the business they were running had decreased. In addition, some entrepreneurs chose other side businesses to still be able to meet their daily needs. Then there was a policy from the government, namely PPKM, which limited the space for people to move in their activities during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Then two women entrepreneurs answered that the Covid-19 pandemic did not threaten the existence of their businesses. The business he runs could run well because sales of his products were still going well by serving online orders.

Most women entrepreneurs felt that their business existence was threatened during the Covid-19 pandemic. This was coupled with the government’s policy, namely PPKM, which restricted its citizens from carrying out their activities so the business could not run smoothly. This is in line with research conducted by Mustafa et al. (2021), that women entrepreneurs faced a threat to their business and could not manage business operational costs.

Conclusions

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the income of women entrepreneurs in the micro-enterprise sector. The effect is a decrease in household income, even though it has been combined with the income of the husbands of each women entrepreneur. Then, with the decline in household income, women entrepreneurs experience obstacles in meeting the needs needed to live. Women entrepreneurs also have difficulty meeting the necessary utility costs. In addition, some women entrepreneurs share challenges in managing children’s education.

The lifestyles of women entrepreneurs in the micro sector have also been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The businesswoman explained that her lifestyle is now different. They find it challenging to meet the basic needs of their families and experience a decrease in their standard of living compared to before the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Covid-19 pandemic affects the mental health of women entrepreneurs in the micro-enterprise sector. Most of the women entrepreneurs admitted that their mental health was affected by the unprecedented changes in conditions. Then some female entrepreneurs acknowledge that they experience stress disorders when running a business amid this crisis. Then some female entrepreneurs think they will give up on running their business because they feel there is no hope to rise from their situation.

Business sales from women entrepreneurs in the micro sector in Sukoharjo Regency are affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Most women entrepreneurs said they experienced a decline in sales compared to the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, the purchasing power of customers has decreased, it can further threaten the existence of businesses managed by women entrepreneurs.

The author considered that women entrepreneurs in the micro sector in Sukoharjo Regency need to understand the real market needs to innovate by providing customers with the right products or services. Then, they need to realize that online marketing can help sell their business so they don’t just run a conventional business. Women entrepreneurs need to improve their understanding of business management to manage their businesses in any circumstances. This understanding can be obtained by attending seminars or courses on entrepreneurship. They must maintain good relationships with their customers to create trust and become loyal customers. Women entrepreneurs need to understand good self-management to achieve a balance of life and maintain their physical and mental health.

Ethics approval

The request for approval was obtained from Ratih Hendayani, ST., MM., Ph.D, the Head of the Study Program, Faculty of Economics and Business, Telkom University (Number 231/AKD/EB-M//2021) in seeking data and information at the Office of Trade, Cooperatives, Small and Medium Enterprises, Sukoharjo Regency. Then I received a reply letter from the Office of Trade, Cooperatives, Small and Medium Enterprises, Sukoharjo Regency with number 870/ 1720/ X1/2021 that it is permitted to conduct research related to topics relevant to the field of study.

Consent

All participants gave informed consent to be interviewed orally. The source of the informants were seven women entrepreneurs and one representative from the Small and Medium Enterprises Cooperative Trading Office of Sukoharjo Regency, who agreed that the data were provided for research purpose and that the data can be published. They also consented that the data were provided for research anonymously without having distorted scientific meaning.

As it is a qualitative research, full details have been explained in the Methods section of the paper.

I declare that the data provided is true and can be accounted for.

Author contributions

Both MKP and DA contributed to the writing of this paper. Idea, design, data collection, data analysis, revision and finalization were done by MKP and DA.