How dominant patriarchal structures permeated the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic-and women's multiple and varied experiences of and resistance to these structures.
Feminism and COVID-19 explores different but common themes related to women's experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Julia Smith and Clare Wenham bring together a unique multicentered, multidisciplinary, and transnational author team, covering nine case studies from Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Hong Kong, Kenya, Nigeria, and the United Kingdom.
The chapters reveal how women around the world were both central to the delivery of the COVID-19 response, albeit unrecognized, and disproportionately affected by its secondary effects. The lost income and opportunities, as well as increased unpaid care work and violence, were not caused by the pathogen but by preexisting structural inequities that pervade global political, economic, and social systems and structures. This inequality permeated global and local responses to the pandemic, which, on the whole, only included gender considerations in the most superficial ways but not in terms of money, protection, or resources.
The transnational feminist perspectives speak to both global patterns and local heterogeneity, emphasizing the importance of highlighting the localized experiences of different groups of women impacted by the same global crisis.
By:
Julia Smith,
Clare Wenham
Imprint: MIT Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Weight: 369g
ISBN: 9780262554039
ISBN 10: 0262554038
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 17 March 2026
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming
Chapter 1: Introduction --Julia Smith and Clare Wenham Chapter 2: Unbalanced Scales: Exploring the Impacts of the Unequal Burden of Responsibilities Borne by Women during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Dhaka, Bangladesh --Selima Sara Kabir, Moumita Islam, Amal Chowdhury, Nazia Mahmud and Sabina Faiz Rashid Chapter 3: “It Is the Woman Who Has to Do Everything, Paid or Unpaid”: Work, Gender and COVID-19 in Brazil --Mariela Rocha, Aponira Maria de Farias, Brunah Schall, Eduardo Ryo Tamaki, Paloma Porto, Paulo Silva Júnior, Flora Gonçalves and Denise Nacif Pimenta Chapter 4: “A Double-Edged Sword”: Lived Experiences of Recent Immigrant Women in British Columbia, Canada during COVID-19 --Alice Mũrage and Julia Smith Chapter 5: “Because I Am a Woman, the Man Think They Need to Protect Me”: Gendered experience of first responders to COVID-19 in China --Connie C. R. Gan and Sara E. Davies Chapter 6: “We Want to Improve the Situation, but It’s Not under Our Control”: Gendered risks, impacts and response in Hong Kong --Ingrid D. Lui and Karen A. Grépin Chapter 7: “Since They Call Us Volunteers, There Is No Support at All”: Community Health Volunteers during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Kenya --Anne Ngunjiri, Robinson Karuga, Linet Okoth and Lillian Otiso Chapter 8: “We the Women Do a Lot of Support”: Experiences of Women Market Traders, Women Living in Slums and Women with Disabilities in Lagos, Nigeria during the COVID-19 Pandemic --Amy Oyekunle, Uche Ralph-Opara, Patience Agada, and Oluwakemi Odukoya Chapter 9: “I Feel Like I’ve Been Left at ‘Good Luck. Hopefully, Nothing Goes Wrong’”: The Experiences of Pregnant Women during COVID-19 in the UK --Asha Herten Crabb, Karen Grépin, and Clare Wenham Chapter 10: Women’s Economic and Social Vulnerability to the Pandemic: Lessons from Bangladesh, Kenya and Nigeria --Valerie Mueller, Nicole Wu, Atonu Rabbani, and Karen Grépin Chapter 11: Gender-Responsive Pandemic Planning --Heang-Lee Tan, Kate Hawkins, Erica Rosser, Julia Smith, Clare Wenham, and Rosemary Morgan Chapter 12: Conclusion --Julia Smith and Clare Wenham
Julia Smith is Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University. She is the author of Conscripted to Care and Civil Society Organizations and the Global Response to HIV/AIDS. Clare Wenham is Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy at the London School of Economics. She is the author of Feminist Global Health Security and coauthor of Declaring a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
Reviews for Feminism and COVID-19: How Women Fare in the Face of a Global Crisis
ENDORSEMENTS ""THE definitive volume for understanding the social and gendered dimensions of pandemics—and a vital resource for building more inclusive policies in times of crisis."" —Dr. Jocalyn Clark, International Editor, The BMJ; Former Executive Editor, The Lancet “This powerful book shows that COVID-19 didn’t create inequality—it revealed and deepened it.” —Sarah Hawkes, Professor of Global Population Health, Monash University Malaysia; Cochair, Lancet Commission on Gender and Global Health “This important book continues the vital scholarly effort that revealed women’s invisibility in early COVID efforts, documenting impacts and lessons to ensure it’s not repeated. A powerful and informative must-read.” —Ginette Azcona, Senior Policy Specialist, Research and Data, UN Women ""This brilliant book is a must-read for everyone working toward gender equity in today's world of constant intertwined crises."" —Sabine Oertelt-Prigione, Professor of Sex- and Gender-Sensitive Medicine, Radboud University and University of Bielefeld; Chair, EU Commission Expert Group “Gender and COVID-19” ""This remarkable volume about COVID-19 policies in diverse countries and territories shows that, rather than creating ruptures leading to transformational change, health emergencies actually reinscribe patriarchy and intersectional inequalities."" —Jennifer M. Piscopo, Professor of Politics and Gender and Director of the Gender Institute, Royal Holloway, University of London
