Gender inequality and health disparity amid COVID-19

Abstract

Gender inequalities could lead to grave human and economic consequences, especially amid global health crises of the coronavirus 2019′s (COVID-19) scale. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated gender inequalities women face and introduced new challenges that are unprecedented to society at large. Adverse effects of COVID-19, compounded by unintended consequences caused by public health policies such as lockdowns (e.g., delayed or canceled health services), have forced women to face issues ranging from COVID-19 infections and deaths, prolonged unemployment, to unparalleled scale and severity of domestic violence. However, though women face a canopy of debilitating challenges, there is a shortage of research that examines health solutions that can mitigate, if not offset, challenges women experience amid COVID-19. In this paper, we aim to shed light on why timely solutions are needed to mitigate gender inequalities and health disparities women face amid COVID-19 promptly. Furthermore, we underscore the imperative for cost-effective interventions that could shed light on the current health crisis and future pandemics.