Gender and Intersectional Analysis

Catherine Clune-Taylor (29 May 2020) “COVID 19, Racism, and Masculinity,” Intersections of Gender Webinar Series, University of Alberta [video, 1 hour]
In this wide-ranging talk, Clune-Taylor examines a number of ways in which COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted women, people of colour, and other marginalized groups, exploring the intersectionality of these impacts. She begins by considering access to health care in the United States and the effect this has had on Black lives and opportunities in the context of Black Lives Matter. She describes some of the disproportionate effects of the pandemic on women generally, and women of colour in particular, as well as people with disabilities. She also considers issues of class: who is able to work from home, who is able to access testing, and who is able to afford health insurance. Another point Clune-Taylor draws attention to is the manner in which ideals of masculinity have shaped peoples’ responses to the pandemic, especially in connection with such things as mask wearing and the anti-lockdown protests.

Armine Yalnizyan (2020), “COVID-19’s Impact: Not Recession, but a Completely Different Economics,” Toronto Star
Yalnizyan suggests that the economic downturn caused by SARS-CoV-2 is unlike past ones. Typically, the solution to recessions is to boost demand. In the face of this pandemic, governments are not stimulating demand, but encouraging us to avoid non-essential transactions. This is also the first service-industry driven recession, and since more women work in the service industry, women are disproportionately affected.

Helen Lewis (19 March 2020), “The Coronavirus Is a Disaster for Feminism,” The Atlantic
Lewis describes myriad ways that women and men are affected differently by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, mostly to the detriment of women’s economic gains over the last several decades. Past epidemic outbreaks (such as Zika and Ebola) have affected the livelihood of both men and women; but following those pandemics, men’s incomes have typically recovered more quickly than women’s. Lewis worries that we will see a similar pattern with COVID-19. She also sees opportunity in this pandemic to rethink how we develop policies in response to crises.

Amaranta Manrique De Lara and María De Jesús Medina Arellano (25 August 2020), “The COVID-19 Pandemic and Ethics in Mexico Through a Gender Lens,” Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, 17
The authors examine the gendered aspects of Mexico’s pandemic response. Domestic violence tends to increase during isolation, because the stress and economic uncertainty of a pandemic can trigger abuse while making it difficult to access support networks. In addition, confinement exacerbates the unfair distribution of unpaid labour, which exacerbates inequalities in the paid labour market. The lack of resources then makes it difficult to access health care, including sexual and reproductive health care.