The Impacts of COVID-19 on Women’s Social and Economic Outcomes: An Updated Review of the Evidence

In an updated review on the gendered social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, we examine 49 studies identified by our search criteria between January and March 2021. This review included peer-reviewed papers, pre-prints and working papers that met specific search terms, contained empirical analyses and complete information on the study methodology, and included findings on the gendered social and economic impacts of the pandemic in low- and middle-income contexts. This collection of evidence largely confirms previous findings that in many arenas, women are bearing the greatest burdens of the crisis. Evidence continues to mount that woman have faced greater employment and income losses, have shouldered the majority of increases in unpaid care work, and have endured increased levels of violence. Gaps remain regarding the impacts on women agricultural workers and women entrepreneurs and, importantly, intrahousehold poverty and food insecurity. New evidence largely confirms however, that women are disproportionately and negatively impacted by the pandemic and policy responses must be sensitive to this reality.