The gendered impact of the Covid-19 crisis and post-crisis period

Tyrimas 30-09-2020

Outbreaks affect men, women and other genders differentially. This can be both the direct infections with a pathogen, or the secondary effects of public health response policies. COVID-19 is no exception, and the gendered impacts thus far and in the future are numerous. This study outlines some of the key gendered effects thus far and suggestions for how these may extend into the post-crisis period based on currently available data on COVID and longer-term effects of previous outbreaks. This includes the lack of sex-disaggregated data, the role of healthcare workers and care workers, domestic violence, the impact of quarantine on feminised sectors of the economy, the additional unpaid labour on women as a result of lockdown, access to maternity, sexual and reproductive health services. This study commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the FEMM Committee.