Read on Twitter
18 months ago, I tweeted this thread, and then almost immediately went to the hospital for an emergency induction due to a life-threatening pregnancy complication.
(If you wondered where I went in the replies, now you know!) https://twitter.com/ValerieGMarlowe/status/1047208631601643523?s=20
(If you wondered where I went in the replies, now you know!) https://twitter.com/ValerieGMarlowe/status/1047208631601643523?s=20
It was a bizarre day. The first Presidential emergency alert test was sent out while I was in the hospital waiting room, so I ended up explaining emergency alerts to a room full of strangers when their phones all went off at the same time.
Then, the aforementioned twitter thread went small-scale viral and I had to turn off notifications on my phone because (IDK if I mentioned) I was in labor.
Anyway, fast forward 18 months and I am now working full-time from the living room with my toddler, while trying to oversee collection of documentation about COVID-19 responses for @elq_resource.
I saw a reply notification for the previous twitter thread the other day, and the reader said she had been thinking of it since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis.
So maybe now is a good time to revisit the topic of gender and disasters.
So maybe now is a good time to revisit the topic of gender and disasters.
It is still early for academic research on the gendered impacts of COVID-19, but some patterns are starting to emerge.
(Will also re-up my wholehearted recommendation of the Gender and Disasters Network here!)
(Will also re-up my wholehearted recommendation of the Gender and Disasters Network here!)
You may remember that as news of the spread of the virus spread to the U.S., (approximately two-ish months, or one hundred years ago in quarantine time), there was a surge in gun purchases.
And the whole time, I kept thinking of this (non-COVID) thread: https://twitter.com/designmom/status/1225052129238421505?s=20
And the whole time, I kept thinking of this (non-COVID) thread: https://twitter.com/designmom/status/1225052129238421505?s=20
It turned out to be prescient in a way I’m sure the author didn’t expect re: the importance of hand-washing and laundry.
Side note: if you’ve recently purchased a gun for the first time, here are some things you should think about: https://laist.com/2020/03/18/coronavirus-do-i-need-gun-panic-buying.php
Side note: if you’ve recently purchased a gun for the first time, here are some things you should think about: https://laist.com/2020/03/18/coronavirus-do-i-need-gun-panic-buying.php
As others have noted, this disaster has had gendered implications from the beginning- it looks like men are more likely to be impacted by COVID-19 than women, although we haven’t been tracking this phenomena as closely in the United States. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/us/coronavirus-male-female-data-bias.html
And as this article points out, 70% of the world’s healthcare staff are women, but only 29% of world leaders are female. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/women-female-leadership-gender-coronavirus-covid19-response/
Despite this, initial indications are that some of the most effective responses to COVID-19 have been carried out by female leaders. https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/equality/493434-countries-led-by-women-have-fared-better-against
Unsurprisingly, there have been disproportionate impacts on women as a result of often uneven distribution of household responsibilities.
(GOOD DADS: of course I know there are plenty of you out there- this is the big picture, don’t @ me.) https://twitter.com/astanley711/status/1251308928274771968?s=20
(GOOD DADS: of course I know there are plenty of you out there- this is the big picture, don’t @ me.) https://twitter.com/astanley711/status/1251308928274771968?s=20
And anecdotal evidence from journal editors has started to emerge that there’s a gendered aspect to the productivity of academics during this time period as well, likely due to this imbalance. https://twitter.com/TPTrost/status/1251906232899768325
Given the gender dynamics in disasters and the need for diverse perspectives in scholarship around them, that’s a concerning prospect for our field. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01135-9
After 9/11, there was a watershed moment for digital photography when film could no longer be sent via airmail because of the FAA ground stop. Photographers already had the capability to shoot digital, and after flights resumed again, many never went back to film.
Some researchers are starting to argue that something similar may occur in regard to gender dynamics as a result of this crisis, due in part to a significantly increased awareness of childcare burdens on the part of employers.
http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/~mdo738/research/COVID19_Gender_March_2020.pdf
http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/~mdo738/research/COVID19_Gender_March_2020.pdf
For now, however, over 60% of jobs lost in the U.S. due to Coronavirus were held by women. https://www.npr.org/2020/04/08/829141182/women-are-losing-more-jobs-in-coronavirus-shutdowns?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=news
And women of color have been particularly hard hit.
Putting in a plug here for the B(L)K/WMN "I Got You, Sis" Fund. The idea being that small direct infusions of cash can make a difference. https://twitter.com/WAAFUND/status/1252006806689386496?s=20
Putting in a plug here for the B(L)K/WMN "I Got You, Sis" Fund. The idea being that small direct infusions of cash can make a difference. https://twitter.com/WAAFUND/status/1252006806689386496?s=20
A lot of this has been IRT the U.S., but this article from The Lancet outlines some of the worldwide gender impacts of COVID-19. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30526-2/fulltext
Finally, to the man in the replies to the original thread who said that that there is “an important difference” between protective behavior “clearly” more likely to be performed by men to protect women and children, and "the impacts of natural disasters on the vulnerable":
I would argue that women who stayed behind with children and elders in rapidly flooding homes during Katrina were exhibiting the same behavior, as are women risking their own health during this crisis. It’s just not recognized as such in women, because that’s not the narrative.
This is not to discount the individual bravery of men, many of whom are willing to take incredible risks to their own personal safety and continue to do so during the COVID-19 crisis. Their bravery and self-sacrifice are not diminished by the fact that women often do the same.
I would also say: decades of research have shown that if men really want to protect women and children, they need to broaden their conception of what that looks like.
A disaster isn’t a one-off event- it’s a result of years of societal decision-making, and we can all do better.
A disaster isn’t a one-off event- it’s a result of years of societal decision-making, and we can all do better.
