Patterns and inequalities of gender make a difference to pandemics. Gender relations and gender inequalities can shape the progression of pandemics, patterns of men’s and women’s responses to them, and pandemics’ impact. In the following, we have collected commentaries on the COVID-19 pandemic and gender. Additions are welcome.
Why are more men than women dying from COVID-19, at least from preliminary data? The BMJ Global Health piece below provides a thoughtful, evidence-based commentary. Possible factors include: biological immune system differences, existing co-morbidities, higher levels of risky behaviours (smoking, drinking), and other factors.
Note: Other comprehensive collections on COVID-19 and gender can be found here (Gender and COVID-19 Working Group), here (data2x), and here (WIDE+: Feminists Transforming Economic Development).
Men and COVID-19
Note: Newer items are at the bottom of this list. Also see XY's materials on men's health and wellbeing, including this collection of key scholarly articles. And the section on men in the Gender and COVID-19 Working Group collection.
- Where Women Are Ahead of Men: Hand Washing. New York Times, March 17 2020
- COVID-19 demands that we pay attention to who does the care work – and how we support them. Promundo, March 18 2020
- The coronavirus is killing far more men than women. Washington Post, March 19 2020
- Why the Coronavirus Seems to Hit Men Harder Than Women. New York Times, March 20 2020
- In Italy, Coronavirus Takes a Higher Toll on Men. New York Times, March 20 2020
- Why is coronavirus so much more deadly for men than for women? MSN News, March 21 2020
- Sex, gender and COVID-19: Disaggregated data and health disparities. BMJ Global Health, March 24 2020
- Here's why the coronavirus may be killing more men than women. The US should take note. CNN, March 24 2020
- Men are much more likely to die from coronavirus - but why? The Guardian, March 26 2020
- U.S. men less likely to heed health warnings as coronavirus death toll mounts: Reuters/Ipsos poll. Chris Kahn, The Guardian, March 27 2020
- Men, wash your hands! The research evidence is that men wash their hands less frequently than women after using the restroom / toilet. Tweet, Michael Flood
- Some evangelicals deny the coronavirus threat. It’s because they love tough guys. Washington Post.
- Thoughts for Men on coping with Social Distancing and Isolation. By Jeff Perera, Higher (Un)Learning, March 31 2020
- Coronavirus Seems to Be Infecting and Killing More Men Than Women. Katie Comero, The Wall Street Journal, April 2 2020
- Coronavirus reveals just how deep macho stereotypes run through society. By Stephen Burrell and Sandy Ruxton, The Conversation, April 9 2020
- Who Fears, Lives: Masculinity in the Times of COVID-19. By Daanish Mustafa, Pakistan, April 12 2020
- Why do more men die from coronavirus than women? By Professor Jenny Graves, The Conversation, April 20 2020
- How Men Can Show Up as Gender Partners During Covid-19. Catalyst, April 21 2020
- COVID-19 global disruptions and the changing masculinities: Critical reflections from Uganda. Amon Ashaba Mwiine, May 8 2020
- How men’s misplaced sense of masculinity in the face of Covid-19 may be killing them. By Dan Cassino.
- Young men more likely than women to break lockdown rules – UK survey. The Guardian, May 9 2020
- #CatchYourself – Respect Your Bubble (New Zealand organisation LeVa)
- Corona Crisis: Survival Kit for Men Under Pressure. White Ribbon UK
- Digital activism for equitable, compassionate, and non-violent ways of being men during COVID-19. MenEngage collection
- Masks for coronavirus Why white men in America are refusing to wear them. By Anna North, Vox, May 12
- Trump's coronavirus mask standoff reveals the dangerous ripples of fragile masculinity. By Liz Plank, Think, May 13 2020
- The strange conflation of masks and masculinity. By Bonnie Kristian, The Week, May 14 2020
- Putin, Johnson, Bolsonaro and Trump: men too macho for masks. The Guardian, May 17 2020
- The pandemic and shifts in masculinity ("Coronavirus and social distancing have changed my relationships — how can I make it permanent?"). By Jack Gow, May 18 2020
- Men, sex, gender and COVID-19: Statistics and analysis by Global Health 5050
- Betron, M., Gottert, A., Pulerwitz, J., Shattuck, D., & Stevanovic-Fenn, N. (2020). Men and COVID-19: Adding a gender lens. Global Public Health, 1-3. doi:10.1080/17441692.2020.1769702
- Covid-19: Male disadvantage highlights the importance of sex-disaggregated data. BMJ blog, June 17 2020
- Abad-Santos, Performative masculinity is making American men sick, Aug 10 2020
- Masculinities and COVID-19: Making the Connections (Sandy Ruxton and Stephen Burrell, Promundo), September 2020
- Karlis, Toxic masculinity has become a threat to public health, Salon, Oct 18 2020
- Petter, "Real men don't wear masks" - The link between masculinity and face coverings, Independent, Oct 18 2020
- Male sex identified by global COVID-19 meta-analysis as a risk factor for death and ITU admission. Nature Communications, Dec. 9 2020
Data on patterns of infection and death
- Sex, gender and COVID-19: Disaggregated data and health disparities. BMJ Global Health, March 24 2020
- An Intersectional Approach to a Pandemic? Gender Data, Disaggregation, and COVID-19. Data2x blog (Natalie Cleveland), March 23 2020
- Male sex identified by global COVID-19 meta-analysis as a risk factor for death and ITU admission. Nature Communications, Dec. 9 2020
The gendered progression and impacts of COVID-19
- COVID-19: the gendered impacts of the outbreak. The Lancet, March 6
- Briefing: Covid-19 – Gender and other Equality Issues. Women’s Budget Group UK
- The COVID-19 Outbreak and Gender: Key Advocacy Points from Asia and the Pacific. UN Women Asia Pacific
- How Will COVID-19 Affect Women and Girls in Low- and Middle-Income Countries? Centre for Global Development blog (David Evans)
- COVID-19 is not gender neutral. BroadAgenda blog (Amy Haddad), March 17
- Feminist leadership in a pandemic. By Leila Billing, March 21
- COVID-19 is a disaster for feminism. The Atlantic (Helen Lewis), March 19
- Gender and the Coronavirus Outbreak. Think Global Health (Julia Smith), Feb 4
- COVID-19: What has COVID-19 Taught Us about Neoliberalism? Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (Nela Porobić Isaković)
- COVID-19: An equity-based approach to dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. Sonke Gender Justice, South Africa
- Beyond sex and gender analysis: an intersectional view of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and response. Policy Brief by Olena Hankivsky and Anuj Kapilashrami
- Primer on the gendered impacts of COVID-19. Gender And The Economy (GATE), April 13
- The Impact of COVID-19 on Gender Equality. NBER Working Paper, April 2020
Responses, protective and health behaviours
- Coronavirus: A Look at Gender Differences in Awareness and Actions. KFF Women’s Health Policy, March 20
- A Meta-Analysis of the Association between Gender and Protective Behaviors in Response to Respiratory Epidemics and Pandemics. Plos One
Domestic and sexual violence
- Violence Against Women and Children During COVID-19: Research studies, evidence tracker, etc.
- Issue Brief: COVID-19 and ending violence against women and girls. UN Women, April
- Family and domestic violence and COVID-19. Australian Women Against Violence Alliance (AWAVA) collection
- COVID-19 and Family Violence (Australia)
- Pandemics and Violence Against Women and Children. 45-pp. report, Center for Global Development, April 1
- Why we need to talk more about the potential for COVID-19 to increase the risk of violence against women and girls, SSDirect, March 18
- Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Violence against Women and Girls. SDDirect UK
- Women’s safety in a time of quarantine. By Susan Maury, Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand, March 24
- What does coronavirus mean for violence against women? Women's Media Center, March 19
- MADRE, From Global Coordination to Local Strategies: A Practical Approach to Prevent, Address and Document Domestic Violence under COVID-19
- Prevention Collaborative Collection, COVID-19 and VAW / VAC
Care, domestic work, household labour
- COVID-19 self-isolation a good time for couples to fix housework gender divide, experts say. ABC News (Jane McNaughton), March 23
- Women's domestic burden just got heavier with the coronavirus. The Guardian (Lucia Graves), March 16
- COVID-19 demands that we pay attention to who does the care work – and how we support them. Promundo, March 18
Sexual and reproductive health
- As pandemic rages, women and girls face intensified risks. UNFPA, March 19
- COVID-19: A Gender Lens - Protecting sexual and reproductive health and rights, and promoting gender equality. UNFPA
- How will COVID-19 affect global access to contraceptives — and what can we do about it? Devex
- The COVID-19 Outbreak: Potential Fallout for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. Guttmacher Institute
- “The babies keep coming”: What the coronavirus pandemic means for people giving birth
- SRHR and COVID-19 (website of resources)
- COVID-19: What implications for sexual and reproductive health and rights globally?
- COVID-19 and abortion care: why we need remote access to reproductive health services