Response to COVID-19: impacts and implications are different for women and men

• Women are essential in the fight against the outbreak – as first responders, health workers and professionals, community volunteers and care workers, as well as being disproportionately affected by the crisis.

• Women are at the forefront of response and bear higher physical and emotional costs, as well as an increased risk of infection in crisis response. It is essential to address the immediate needs of women in the front lines of the response and incorporate them into decision-making processes.

• It is important to ensure access to and reproductive and sexual health care and services. Data from previous outbreaks indicate that containment efforts often divert resources from regular health services, exacerbating ordinary lack of access to services, including pre and post-natal health care, as well as contraceptives

• Women are still the most affected by unpaid care work, especially in times of crisis. Due to the saturation of health systems and school closures, the tasks of care fall mainly to women, who generally have a greater share of responsibility to care for sick family members, as well as children and the elderly

• Employment and care services are affected for women workers in general and in particular for informal and domestic workers. The outbreak profoundly impacts women’s ability to maintain their livelihoods. Experience has shown that quarantines significantly reduce economic and subsistence activities and disproportionately affect employment-generating sectors that are predominately female, such as trade and tourism.