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
- 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
- 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
- What are the risks of COVID-19 infection in pregnant women?, The Lancet
- 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 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: Apr 20, 2020
