COVID-19 crisis and women in Asia

The first paper in this series looks at the economic impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on women in Asia. It explores amplified vulnerabilities of women living in challenging economic backgrounds, difficult political situations and security environments. This paper highlights a lack of gender-sensitive responses and calls for the need to hear women in the response and recovery process.

The second paper in the series explores the impacts of COVID-19 in three areas: gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and unpaid care work. Covering six countries – India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam – the report highlights the interconnectedness of the challenges faced by women and calls for a holistic gender-responsive approach based on a multi-sector analysis of the pandemic. The study outlines women’s context specific needs and provides recommendations to mitigate effects as well as to prepare for possible future crises.

The third paper in this series assesses how the pandemic has accelerated digitalisation processes, especially in sectors that have a predominately female workforce. The study explores inequalities in access to technology by women workers and identifies factors that reinforce inequalities in context of digitalisation. Moreover, it takes stock of good practices of trade unions, informal workers’ associations, women’s rights organizations, governments, and other stakeholders that enable women to harness the benefits of digitalisation and minimize negative effect. The authors, Rosalinda Ofreneo and Benjamin Velasco, call for a stronger regulation of big tech firms and for measures to advance gender equality in the digital economy.