Consequences of COVID-19 on women’s and men’s economic empowerment

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly changed lives of women and men. The UN Women and UNFPA regional offices for Europe and Central Asia have initiated a regional survey aimed at assessing the impact of the pandemic on women’s and men’s livelihoods and experiences. The report presents findings based on Rapid Gender Assessment in Serbia, conducted by SeConS – Development Initiative Group.

The main objective of the survey was to provide insights into how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted livelihoods of women and men, and if and how it (re)shaped gender inequalities. The outbreak of the pandemic raised crucial questions: have the changed reality and governmental measures in response to the pandemic revealed more clearly existing and persisting structural gender inequalities, or deepened them? Did the challenges creat new opportunities to dismantle discriminatory practices and structures reproducing inequalities, creating new space for change towards more human centred development, inclusive and gender equitable societies? This survey attempted to provide evidence and some answers to these questions.