Abstract

Abstract:

In countries around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic quickly revealed systemic weaknesses in myriad national institutions, from health systems to banks and government agencies. One striking fact that attracted media attention is that people seemed to be dying from COVID-19 at much higher rates in countries with male leaders. This paper goes a step further to see whether the exclusion of women more broadly from economic, social, and political life, as well as high levels of injustice and insecurity, also means that the countries are in bad shape when it comes to major pandemic risks. Investigating the statistical relationship in scores on the INFORM Epidemic Risk Index and the Women, Peace and Security Index for 167 countries, we find a strong statistical correlation which, while not proving causation, does point to key connections. Our analysis suggests that countries most at risk of humanitarian crisis and disaster that would overwhelm national response capacity are those where the status and well-being of women in the country are weak. This is not only harmful to women, but to everyone in society.

pdf

Share