Off the back burner: Diverse and gender-inclusive decision-making for COVID-19 response and recovery

Summary box Epidemics function as a gendered vulnerability, and yet gender remains an afterthought in health security and pandemic response, including to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).1 Emerging data indicate that COVID-19 mortality is greater among men, but past experiences suggest that the socioeconomic impact of epidemics tends to be far greater for women. As a result, it is essential to assess the intersectional and gendered vulnerabilities in health emergencies. In addition, given the gender-skewed landscape of power and decision-making in global health, it is also critical to outline women’s leadership and role in such contexts. Women are users of health services, and they are agents of change in health, making critical contributions as parents, front-line responders, health promoters, influencers, researchers, scientists and decision-makers. In China’s COVID-19 response, female nurses and community health workers were the first line of defence against the outbreak.1 Despite their major role, an interplay of power and privilege often results in women—particularly women from minority ethnic groups—being under-represented in …