How the COVID‐19 global pandemic further jeopardized women's health, mental well‐being, and safety: Intersectionality framework and social policy action

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately endangered women's health, well-being and safety. According to the World Health Organization, nearly 7 million people worldwide have died from the virus by May 2023. While COVID-19 posed an immediate threat to the lives of people around the world, the interconnections of gender, race, ethnicity, and class resulted in differential consequences of the global pandemic. With a focus on intersecting identities, this special issue explores how women became more vulnerable during the pandemic and suggest what policies and interventions would work to buffer against such risks.In this issue, authors use empirical, review, and policy implication work to demonstrate how women, particularly those with other minoritized intersecting identities, were impacted by COVID-19. The authors of this special issue examine the impacts of COVID-19 on women's physical, emotional, and reproductive health, along with issues of safety. The unique role that women play in mothering and caretaking, within their homes, workplaces, and communities, means that this endangerment has widespread and potentially intergenerational impacts. Moreover, it is

Caste and COVID‐19: Psychosocial disparities amongst rural Indian women during the coronavirus pandemic

“…Although this is only one pre‐COVID point of comparison, the difference in magnitude supports the possibility the pandemic may have magnified the disparity. This finding also mirrors the broader literature suggesting that marginalized communities have experienced worse health outcomes during the pandemic (Fulcher & Dinella, 2023). It should be noted that when examining individual subscales, anxiety and stress were found to be greater in both OBC and SC/ST groups relative to GC but depression was only significantly higher in OBC.…”

“…The COVID‐19 pandemic has amplified preexisting disparities globally, such that historically marginalized communities have experienced worse psychosocial outcomes due to systemic inequities (Fulcher & Dinella, 2023). This has been particularly challenging in India, where the devastation from the pandemic has been extensive (Pickard et al., 2020).…”

Mothers with justice‐involved sons: Socioeconomic impacts of COVID‐19 by neighborhood disorder in the United States

“…Areas of increased poverty, crowding and high population densities, the proportion of persons of color, racialized economic segregation, and low rates of health insurance exhibit increased rates of COVID-19 cases and related deaths (Adhikari et al, 2020;Chen et al, 2020;Chin et al, 2020). Women, in particular, have experienced drastically inequitable consequences resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, related to medical care, systemic racial and class disparities, mental health, and motherhood (see Fulcher & Dinella, 2022). Importantly, increased unemployment rates have resulted in several negative consequences for impacted individuals and their families, including the inability to pay monthly bills, housing insecurity, food insecurity, essential service loss (e.g., internet services, phone services), loss of childcare, inability to obtain quality healthcare, and the depletion of savings (Babbar et al, 2022;Versey, 2022).…”

“…Much of the early empirical research on the COVID-19 pandemic has been focused on factors related to rates of infection and death. More recently, empirical research has been published related to the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 and its inequalities associated with changes in employment and income, race and ethnicity, gender, parenting, and neighborhood characteristics (Ayoub et al, 2023;Dawson et al, 2022;Fulcher & Dinella, 2022;Garland McKinney et al, 2022;Geyton & Johnson, 2022;Jiwani et al, 2022;Rehbein et al, 2022;Versey, 2022). Additionally, research has more recently been published concentrating on uniquely vulnerable populations such as women, minorities, low socioeconomic households, and the justice-involved community (Ayoub et al, 2022;Babbar et al, 2023;Dawson et al, 2022;Fulcher & Dinella, 2022;Garland McKinney et al, 2022;Geyton & Johnson, 2022;Heiman et al, 2022;Ibekwe-Okafor et al, 2022;Jiwani et al, 2022;Lipp & Johnson, 2022;Rehbein et al, 2022;Versey, 2022).…”

“…More recently, empirical research has been published related to the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 and its inequalities associated with changes in employment and income, race and ethnicity, gender, parenting, and neighborhood characteristics (Ayoub et al, 2023;Dawson et al, 2022;Fulcher & Dinella, 2022;Garland McKinney et al, 2022;Geyton & Johnson, 2022;Jiwani et al, 2022;Rehbein et al, 2022;Versey, 2022). Additionally, research has more recently been published concentrating on uniquely vulnerable populations such as women, minorities, low socioeconomic households, and the justice-involved community (Ayoub et al, 2022;Babbar et al, 2023;Dawson et al, 2022;Fulcher & Dinella, 2022;Garland McKinney et al, 2022;Geyton & Johnson, 2022;Heiman et al, 2022;Ibekwe-Okafor et al, 2022;Jiwani et al, 2022;Lipp & Johnson, 2022;Rehbein et al, 2022;Versey, 2022). The present study aims to expand on the current body of literature and understand how neighborhood disorder exacerbates the socioeconomic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as employment, housing, and access to basic necessities, particularly while taking into consideration populations especially vulnerable to socioeconomic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic: mothers, particularly mothers with justice-involved sons, women of color, and women of low socioeconomic status.…”