Authors/editor(s): Ginette Azcona, Antra Bhatt, Jessamyn Encarnacion, Juncal Plazaola-Castaño, Papa Seck, Silke Staab, and Laura Turquet

The impacts of crises are never gender-neutral, and COVID‑19 is no exception.

This publication summarizes data, research, and policy work by UN Women’s Policy and Programme Division on the pandemic’s impact on women and girls, including the impact on extreme poverty, employment, health, unpaid care, and violence against women and girls. The publication also brings into focus the paucity of gender data and calls for greater investment and prioritization of data on the gendered effects of the crisis.

The report draws on the UN Secretary-General’s policy brief on the impact of COVID-19 on women, UN Women’s “Spotlight on gender, COVID-19 and the SDGs”, UN Women thematic policy briefs focused on COVID-19, as well emerging data from UN Women’s rapid gender assessments. New estimates on extreme poverty by sex and age presented in the publication are the outcome of a UN Women–UNDP collaboration with the Frederick S. Pardee Center for International Futures at the University of Denver.