More than a public health crisis: A feminist political economic analysis of COVID-19

Figures & data

Table 1. Case study outbreaks and responses.

	China	Hong Kong	Canada	UK
Date of first known case	31-Dec-19	22-Jan-20	25-Jan-20	31-Jan-20
Cumulative cases as of 30 June 2020	84,620	1132	99,147	298,315
% Cases Female	48	46	57	57
Cumulative deaths as of 30 June 2020	4645	5	8,175	41,698
% Deaths Female	36	40	54	42
Public health response	Medical services and testing in affected areas rapidly scaled up; enforced quarantine and lockdown in effected areas	Extensive contract tracing and isolation of all contacts in government facilities; isolation of all known cases in hospitals.	Testing of those with severe symptoms and healthcare workers; those with mild symptoms asked to self-isolate at home for 14 days; isolation of severe cases in hospitals	Initially testing only for those hospitalised, then extended to healthcare workers, latterly extended to anyone symptomatic in the community. Anyone with symptoms required to self-isolate for 14 days at home.
Social distancing measures	Strict social distancing measures. Use of strict lockdowns within affected areas	Strict isolation measures implemented. Gatherings over 4 people banned. Venues including gyms, cinemas, and bars have closed on government orders.	Recommended social distancing including restricting contact to household units.	Lockdown announced for the whole population, other than key workers. The only exception for supermarket/pharmacy visits and for daily exercise. Strict lockdown lifted in May to allow those who need to travel to work.
Economic measures	Following near complete shutdowns in affected areas, reopening late February-early March for essential sectors, industries, regions, population groups based on risk assessments. Fiscal stimulus announced to save jobs and businesses in May.	Non-essential businesses closed. In April government launched the anti-pandemic funds to ensure workers continue to get paid.	Closure of non-essential business from the end of March to mid-May. Canadian Emergency Relief Benefit, wage subsidies and other interventions introduced	Closure of all non-essential business which cannot be done at home. Instigation of Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (Furlough).
Social measures	Closure of universities, schools, public places, and events January-March.	Schools were suspended from early February, and entertainment and sports facilities were closed.	Closures of schools and childcare facilities from the end of March to the end of May or June (depending on the province)	Closure of schools, childcare, and universities from late March – June (then select year groups allowed to return in small groups)

Table 2. Search strategy per case.

Country	Time period	Sources
Canada	March 15 – June 30, 2020 Canada issues its first travel advisory searches on March 15	Google News, Canadian Newstream Database, targeted searches
China	January 22 – June 30 2020 Chinese government’s confirmation of human-to-human transmission on January 22, 2020	All searches were in Mandarin. Baidu.com, sina.com, Chinese newspapers via CNKI, Chinese journals and news targeted searches, and The State Council PRC, National Bureau of Statistic, National Health Commission of PRC, National Working Committee on Children and Women under State Council, Public Health Science Data, All China Women’s Association
Hong Kong	January 02 – June 30 2020 Hong Kong announced its ‘serious response level’ in early January	Google news, South China Morning Post, China Daily, Radio and Television Hong Kong (RTHK) news, Hong Kong Free Press, targeted searches.
United Kingdom	March 15 – June 30 2020 The UK government imposes lockdown on March 23, 2020	LexisNexis search of the following newspapers: the Telegraph, the Sun, Express Online, the Times, the Mirror, the Independent, the Guardian, and the Daily Mail

COVID-19 Gender Matrix Code Table.

Country	Access to Resources: financial, physical, health, information	Labour /Roles: care economy, healthcare workforce, etc.	Norms /Beliefs: expectations, priorities, public discourses, etc.	Power & Decision-Making: incidents of (dis)empowerment/ racism/ violence	Policies/ Laws: do they consider equity; improve or exacerbate it
Risk/Vulnerability: who is most at risk or vulnerable to infection and why	How access to resources affect risk	How formal and informal gender roles increase risk of infection	Evidence of gendered understandings of vulnerability and risk	Who has ability to protect themselves, move freely to avoid infection, etc. and who does not	Policies/laws that might increase vulnerability/risk of specific genders or groups
Illness & Treatment: how people experience infection and COVID related care/treatment	How access to resources effect experience of illness/treatment:	Who cares for ill; what other roles are those who are ill expected to fulfil	Stigma associated with infection; gendered difference in following public health guidance	Who makes decisions about treatment and care	Policies and laws that might affect health outcomes of specific genders/groups
Health Systems/Services: changes in health services provide, example of how health work force is impacted	Access to COVID related and other health services;	Impacts on healthcare workers; how do gendered roles affected ability to self-isolate, seek care/treatment, etc.	Prioritization of health services; attitudes towards different genders and social groups by health workforce	Who can access health systems without fear; who makes treatment decisions; who makes decisions within health systems	Policies/laws that affect both COVID related care and other health system functions, such as SRH
Social Impacts: impacts on education, family, specific social groups	How closure of social programmes and creation of response programmes affect genders differently; access to supplies etc.	Impacts on informal care in the home/family; who fills care roles and at what social cost	Evidence of sexist, racist, etc. attitudes and their impacts of different social groups	Who is deciding social priorities; how is autonomy affected by quarantine/isolation	Policies/laws that determine access to education or social supports and that address discrimination
Economic Impacts: on income, employment, specific industries/sectors	Who has access to employment, income support, internet to work from home, etc. and who doesn't	Economic impacts of taking on care roles; different economic impacts on male and female dominated industries	Expectations around who gives up paid employment, what industries are most crucial, etc.	Who is deciding how resources will be used at various levels; who has financial influence and who doesn't and why; incidents of economic discrimination/disempowerment	Policies/laws that determine access to economic supports
Security Impacts: on personal and group security and safety including GBV, racism, etc.	Links between access to resources like housing, income support and insecurity	Incidents of violence, racism etc. towards care provides, healthcare workers; gendered composition of security forces involved in response	Who is viewed as a threat to security (gender, race, etc) and who is viewed as victims of insecurity during crisis	Who is making decisions regarding security; is the security force being used in the response and to what gendered effect	Policies/laws related to protecting specific populations, addressing violence, hate etc.

Note: For complete gender matrices for each of the case studies see – https://www.genderandcovid-19.org/matrix/