UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka issued a call to action to governments and other stakeholders on the need for response to the COVID-19 pandemic that takes gender perspectives into account, and the UN Secretary-General has been a vocal proponent of the gender dimensions of this crisis.

In support to this call, UN Women issued a ten-point checklist for governments to guide a gender-sensitive response, and it is working closely with UN partners to ensure a strong gender equality focus, particularly in the social and economic impact of the crisis.

As part of the broader UN-wide response, UN Women’s response to COVID-19 includes policy advice and programmatic interventions. UN Women has developed rapid and targeted responses to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on women and girls and ensure that the long-term recovery positively impacts them.

This brief highlights some of the key UN Women responses along the five priorities identified in the response framework:

• Gender-based violence, including domestic violence, is mitigated, and reduced.
• Social protection and economic stimulus packages serve women and girls.
• People support and practice the equal sharing of the burden of care.
• Women and girls lead and participate in COVID-19 response planning and decision-making.
• Data and coordination mechanisms include gender perspectives.