Whilst lifesaving, the COVID-19 lockdown is disproportionately impacting women as existing gender inequalities are exacerbating gender-based disparities between women, men, girls and boys in terms of access to information, resources to cope with the pandemic,
and its socio-economic impact. It is therefore essential to undertake a gendered impact analysis of COVID-19.

The Gender in Humanitarian Action (GiHA) Working Group in Bangladesh has undertaken this Rapid Gender Analysis to inform national preparedness and response. Given the social distancing measures, RGA desk review contrasts pre-COVID-19 gender information and demographic data against new gender information from a multitude of surveys and qualitative sources. It examines the immediate impact of COVID-19 on pre-existing structural social and economic vulnerabilities of women, girls and diverse
gender groups, and the challenges faced by these groups in accessing information and health, education, and WASH, protection and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) services as well as support for livelihoods. The gendered impact of COVID-19 is evident in following six broad areas:
• Increased risks and evidence of GBV in the context of the pandemic and its responses;
• Unemployment, economic and livelihood impacts for the poor women and girls;
• Unequal access to health, education and WASH services;
• Unequal distribution of care and domestic work;
• Women and girls’ voices are not being included to inform a gender-targeted response; this is particularly the case for those most left behind;
• Policy response mechanisms do not incorporate gender analytical data or gender-responsive plans.