2020•04•01     Helsinki

Authors: Bina Agarwal (University of Manchester)

Published by: UNU-WIDER

Globally, governments are using lockdowns to contain the spread of COVID-19. This has disproportionately affected the poor, the homeless, and the migrants who are left without livelihoods, especially where the lockdown is country-wide, as in India. But has it affected women more than men? If so, in what ways?

So far, ground evidence is limited, but a range of effects can be anticipated: on the burden of domestic tasks, care of vulnerable elders, food-sharing under scarcity, exposure risks while shopping for essentials, household asset depletion, and domestic violence. Not all effects need be negative, however. Here I discuss the likely direction of these effects, especially for India, arguing for an intersectional approach which takes account of both gender and class.

Blog post available here.