Declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization, the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is already having major, differentiated impacts on women. The private sector not only has a responsibility to protect the rights of all its employees and workers and to support women across their entire value chains, but also directly benefits by doing so. This second installment of the four-part guidance note explains that if COVID-19 response and recovery plans do not integrate a gender lens, the impact of the pandemic may be exacerbated and lead to losses for businesses and economies across the region.