COVID-19 & Gender

UN Women has been closely following the political and economic response to COVID-19 and how it is impacting women and girls. We are working with partners to deliver a more accurate picture of the gender dimension to the response so that it can be more effective for women and girls.

Collaboration with WHO

UN Women and WHO join forces to bridge the gender data gap and provide latest available data on COVID-19 cases by sex and age. As more gender data is produced and disaggregated, we will make it available here

The COVID-19 pandemic has marked the year 2020 and keeps the world at bated breath. This ongoing crisis is not gender neutral and has different impacts on women and men. Below are new publications on this topic.

The UN Women publication “From insights to action: Gender equality in the wake of COVID-19” summarizes the data, research and policy work produced by UN Women on the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on women and girls, including how it affects extreme poverty, employment, health, unpaid care and violence against women and girls. The report further shows that the pandemic has widened gender and economic inequalities and stresses, and without gender-responsive polices, the COVID-19 crisis threatens hard-won gains. The publication also brings into focus the lack of gender-disaggregated data and appeals for larger investments in and prioritization of data on the gendered effects of the crisis.

The UN Women brief “COVID-19 and ending violence against women and girls: COVID-19 and violence” highlights emerging evidence on the COVID-19 global pandemic’s impact on violence against women and girls. The brief specifies that globally, 243 million women and girls have been subject to sexual or gender-based violence (SGBV) by an intimate partner in the past year. This existing SGBV crisis is likely to worsen in the COVID-19 context. The brief makes recommendations for all sectors of society to consider, from governments to international organizations to civil society organizations, to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls at the onset, during and after the public health crisis, with examples of actions already taken. It also considers the economic impact of the pandemic and its implications for violence against women and girls in the long term.

Another UN Women publication, “Spotlight on gender, COVID-19 and the SDGs: Will the pandemic derail hard-won progress on gender equality?”, presents the latest evidence on the gendered impact of the pandemic, highlights potential and emerging trends, and reflects on the long-term impact of the crisis on the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This publication provides a snapshot of key facts about the topics Sustainable Development Goals and COVID-19. The report also shows that the current crisis is pushing millions of people into extreme poverty. Furthermore, it clearly outlines that the crisis is not gender neutral. The report ultimately stresses that more gender-disaggregated data are needed to show the impact of the crisis more precisely. 

The OECD policy brief “Covid-19 – Women and girls on the frontline” focuses on how to ensure that a gender lens is well-integrated into COVID-19 response, recovery and prevention efforts in development cooperation. The report emphasizes that 70% of health professionals are women, and that women in general face higher risks of both income loss and violence or abuse in the current crisis. In addition, it draws attention to the adaption of existing policies and practices during this pandemic. Polices and action should balance emergency response on the one hand and long-term development on the other. A gender-sensitive approach is also necessary to prevent the exacerbation of existing gender inequalities.

New release in the area of access to finance

Equal access to finance for women and men is globally an issue. Please find a new publication about new entry point and good practices: 

In partnership with the Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation (SDC), Roots of Impact undertook a feasibility study to explore the opportunity for using SIINC and other Impact-Linked Finance tools to catalyze gender-inclusive FinTechs, focused on furthering women’s economic empowerment and gender equality. In this study the Gender Inclusive FinTech Fund (GIFF) was introduced as a compelling solution for enabling inclusive FinTech companies to be more gender transformative and motivate inclusive ones to become gender focused. It reformats a traditional structured fund with a clearer outcomes orientation from the onset (using a blended structure, from what I understand). For more details you can have a look at the executive summary here.

New releases on gender and data

As already shown above, gender-disaggregated data are necessary to develop gender-sensitive polices, a gender-equal crisis response and sustainable development. Women Deliver has released new developments in the working paper “Advocating for a stronger evidence base for gender equality: An analysis of gender data and knowledge gaps”. This publication is based on desk research and identifies more than 150 gender data and knowledge gaps across nine thematic areas. The desktop research shows some data gaps in the following topics: youth, male and community engagement; the impact of women’s leadership and movements; the emerging role of technology and innovation; private sector and donor responsibilities; the effect of migration and forced displacement; legal frameworks; and the need for cost-benefit analysis. Additionally, the working paper stresses that an intersectional perspective is needed for a sufficient police response, meaning that data should also be collected from other categories, such as age, social status and ethnicity. In conclusion, the following can be said: an expansion of gender- disaggregated data is needed to advance gender equality efforts. 

This Interim Guidance by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee highlights the importance of integrating the protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) into the response to COVID-19. As with any emergency, PSEA prevention and response should be a central part of coordinated humanitarian action. The crisis does not create new responsibilities; rather, PSEA actions during the COVID-19 pandemic should strengthen existing PSEA commitments to protect and assist people receiving humanitarian assistance.

The Guidance recommends action lines to reduce risks, strengthen prevention, establish safe and accessible reporting channels, provide support and protection, and increase coordination.

This policy brief highlights emerging evidence of the impact of the recent global pandemic of COVID-19 on violence against women and girls. It makes recommendations to be considered by all sectors of society, from governments to international organizations and to civil society organizations in order to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls, at the onset, during, and after the public health crisis with examples of actions already taken. It also considers the economic impact of the pandemic and its implications for violence against women and girls in the long-term.

This SDC one-pager gives a quick overview of key gender aspects to take into account in the COVID-19 response in all SDC interventions. If you have specific questions, please get in touch with your SDC Gender Unit!