The Gendered Impacts of COVID-19 on Labor Markets in Latin America and the Caribbean

This note explores the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on labor outcomes among males and females and identifies the dimensions that render workers more resilient to job losses. These findings are then used to discuss implications for policymaking. To overcome the scarcity of data generated by the pause in most statistical operations resulting from social-distancing measures, High-Frequency Phone Surveys (HFPS) collected in the region by the Poverty and Equity Global Practice of the World Bank are used. In this way, the note aims to estimate the gendered outcomes in the labor markets associated with the deepest recession since World War II. The LACGIL supports impact evaluations and inferential research to generate evidence on what works in closing gender gaps in human capital, economic participation, social norms, and agency. Additionally, the lab disseminates findings to improve operations and policy making in the design of cost-e ective interventions that tackle gender inequalities and drive change.