No pandemic preparedness and research without gender equality
Abstract
The covid-19 emergency may have been declared
over, but its effects are not. Pre-existing inequities
worsened during the pandemic, and the crisis has
hardened societal fault lines. Sex and gender mark
many of these. Early on, sex and gender featured
visibly as men seemed at higher risk of infection and
hospital admission, and women of longer term illness
and caregiving burdens. Over time, it became evident
that covid-19 was exacerbating multiple and
intersecting vulnerabilities, with substantial effects
on women and girls: increased care burdens,
amplified gender based violence during lockdowns,
catastrophic drops in income and employment for
women and families, disrupted essential health
services, and school closures that heightened risk of
unintended pregnancies and permanent dropouts.