Context
Countries around the world are working to contain the spread and impact of COVID-19 (coronavirus). Evidence from outbreaks similar to COVID-19 indicates that women and girls can be affected in particular ways, and in some areas, face more negative impacts than men. In fact, there is a risk that gender gaps could widen during and after the pandemic and that gains in women’s and girls’ accumulation of human capital, economic empowerment and voice and agency, built over the past decades, could be reversed. The World Bank Group is working to ensure that projects responding to COVID-19 consider the pandemic's different impacts on men and women.
Gender Dimensions of the COVID-19 Pandemic: This note summarizes different ways that COVID-19 and the accompanying economic crisis may affect gender equality outcomes and provides recommendations for action.
Guidance for Health COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Response Projects: This note was created by the World Bank’s Gender Group to provide guidance for World Bank teams on how client countries can respond to the different needs of men and women, with respect to health projects.
Childcare in the COVID-19 Era: A Guide for Employers: This IFC note outlines ways in which employers can support the care and family needs of their employees during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Supporting Women Throughout the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Emergency Response and Economic Recovery: This brief highlights evidence from the Africa gender innovation lab that can help protect the lives and livelihoods of women and girls.
World Bank Features and Blogs
- Court in Crisis? Navigating family law issues during a pandemic (September 24, 2020)
- Tackling childcare in a global pandemic (September 17, 2020)
- New measures are needed to safeguard women’s economic opportunities during COVID-19 (September 10, 2020)
- The Global State of Small Business during COVID-19: Gender Inequalities (September 8, 2020)
- The Development Podcast: How COVID-19 is Uniquely Threatening Women and Girls (August 27, 2020; podcast)
- Empowering minority women in India: Stories of resilience and hope during the COVID crisis (August 21, 2020)
- Building back better means designing cash transfers for women’s empowerment (August 19, 2020)
- New economic opportunities for Jordanians and Syrian refugees (July 29, 2020)
- How the coronavirus pandemic affects Saudi women (July 23, 2020)
- In India’s Villages Women SHG members provide vital banking services during the COVID-19 crisis (July 22, 2020)
- Gender inequality exacerbates the COVID-19 crisis in fragile and conflict-affected settings (July 9, 2020)
- Female Parliamentarians in the fight against COVID-19 Video Series (June 24, 2020)
- Innovation and sound policies are critical to protect people during the crisis (June 16, 2020)
- Will COVID-19 widen the gender justice gap? (June 15, 2020)
- The importance of women’s equal access to identification in times of a global crisis (June 12, 2020)
- Women and girls must be at the center of Pakistan’s COVID-19 recovery (June 9, 2020)
- Empowering adolescent girls in the time of COVID-19 (June 8, 2020)
- COVID-19: A pivotal moment to support women farmers (June 3, 2020)
- An inclusive response to COVID-19 for Africa’s informal workers (May 29, 2020)
- Expert Answers with Caren Grown: Why are Women and Girls Uniquely Threatened by the Coronavirus? (May 22, 2020; video)
- Women are leading the fight against Coronavirus in Kuwait (May 19, 2020)
- Coronavirus live series with Caren Grown: The impact of the pandemic on women and girls (May 15, 2020; video)
- COVID-19 could worsen gender inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean (May 15, 2020)
- COVID is hurting women economically, but governments have the tools to offset the pain (May 13, 2020)
- How decline in demand for apparel affects poor women in Bangladesh (May 13, 2020)
- In the digital age, being gender-blind is not an option (May 8, 2020)
- Supporting African women through the economic consequences of COVID-19 (May 8, 2020)
- How are the incomes of women and men affected by COVID-19 (Coronavirus)? (May 6, 2020)
- How COVID-19 puts women’s housing, land, and property rights at risk (May 5, 2020)
- The coronavirus is not gender-blind, nor should we be (April 20,2020)
- In India, women’s self-help groups combat the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic (April 11, 2020)
- The nursing workforce is critical to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and global health (April 7, 2020)
- Responding to crisis with digital payments for social protection: Short-term measures with long-term (March 31, 2020)
Research
- COVID-19 and the world of work, ILO
- Gender Inequality and the COVID-19 Crisis: A Human Development Perspective, UNDP
- Where are the women? The conspicuous absence of women in COVID-19 response teams and plans, and why we need them, CARE
- Gender Differences in COVID-19 Related Attitudes and Behavior: Evidence from a Panel Survey in Eight OECD Countries, The National Bureau of Economic Research
- The COVID-19 response: Getting gender equality right for a better future for women at work, ILO
- Pandemics and Violence against Women and Children, Center for Global Development
- Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Violence against Women and Girls, UKAid – The Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) Helpdesk Research Report
- Gender implications of COVID-19 outbreaks in development and humanitarian settings, CARE
- The COVID-19 Outbreak and Gender: Key Advocacy Points from Asia and the Pacific, Asia-Pacific Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group
- Coronavirus Guidance Note: One maternal death is one too many, UNFPA Asia-Pacific Regional Office
- Addressing sex and gender in epidemic-prone infectious diseases, World Health Organization
- Interim Guidance – Gender Alert for COVID-19 Outbreak, The Inter-Agency Standing Committee
- The Impact of COVID-19 on Gender Equality, The National Bureau of Economic Research
Resources
- COVID-19 and Gender Research in LMICs: July-September 2020 Quarterly Review Report, emerge
- Pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and COVID-19, WHO
- Responding to the shadow pandemic: Initiatives to address violence against women and girls during COVID-19, World Bank Group
- COVID-19 and the Insurance Industry: Why a Gender-Sensitive Response Matters, International Finance Corporation
- Brief: The GFF’s Response to COVID-19, Global Financing Facility
- COVID-19 resources to address gender-based violence risks, Gender-Based Violence Guidelines
- COVID-19 resources (includes country-level action plans), Gender-Based Violence Area of Responsibility
- Live data tracker: sex-disaggregated COVID-19 data from the 25 most-affected countries, Global Health 5050
- Gender and Data resources related to Covid-19, Data2X
- United Nations Population Fund FAQs and Technical Briefs, UNFPA
- Family-friendly policies and other good workplace practices in the context of COVID-19: Key Steps employers can take, UNWOMEN
- COVID-19: Emerging gender data and why it matters, UNWOMEN
- UNDP Gender and Recovery Toolkit: Advancing Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Crisis and Recovery Settings, United Nations Development Programme
- COVID-19 and violence against women What the health sector/system can do, WHO
Last Updated: Dec 18, 2020