Background / Aim of Rapid ReviewThe COVID-19 pandemic has led to differential economic, health and social impacts illuminating prevailing gender inequalities (WEN Wales, 2020). This rapid review investigated evidence for effectiveness of interventions to address gender inequalities across the domains of work, health, living standards, personal security, participation, and education.Key FindingsExtent of the evidence baseo 21 studies were identified: 7 reviews, 6 commentaries and 8 primary studieso Limited evidence for the effectiveness of identified innovations in minority groupso A lack of evaluation data for educational interventionso A lack of evidence for cost-effectiveness of the identified interventionso 14 additional articles were identified in the grey literature but not used to inform findings (apart from the Education domain, where there was a lack of peer-reviewedevidence).Recency of the evidence baseo All studies were published in 2020-2021Summary of findingsSome evidence supported interventions/innovations related to work:o Permanent contracts, full-time hours, and national childcare programmes to increase income for women and thereby decrease the existing gender wage gap.o More frequent use of online platforms in the presentation of professional work can reduce gender disparities due to time saved in travel away from home.RR00027. Innovations to address the inequalities for women and girls. Some evidence supported interventions/innovations related to health:o Leadership in digital health companies could benefit from women developing genderfriendly technology that meets the health needs of women.o Create authentic partnerships with black women and female-led organisations to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality (Bray & McLemore, 2021).Some evidence supported interventions/innovations related to living standards including:o Multi-dimensional care provided to women and their children experiencinghomelessness.Limited evidence supported interventions/innovations related to personal security including:o Specific training of social workers, psychologists and therapists to empower women to use coping strategies and utilise services to gain protection from abusive partners.o Helplines, virtual safe spaces smart phone applications and online counselling to address issues of violence and abuse for women and girls.Very limited evidence supported interventions/innovations related to participation including:o Use of online platforms to reduce gender disparities in the presentation ofacademic/professional work.o Ensuring equal representation, including women and marginalised persons, inpandemic response and recovery planning and decision-making.Limited evidence from the grey literature described interventions/innovations related to education including:o Teacher training curricula development to empower teachers to understand and challenge gender stereotypes in learning environments.o Education for girls to enable participation in STEM.Policy ImplicationsThis evidence can be used to map against existing policies to identify which are supported by the evidence, which are not in current policy and could be implemented and where further research/evaluation is needed.Further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of educational innovations, the effectiveness of the innovations in minority groups and the social value gained from interventions to address gender inequalities.

Keywords

  • gender, inequality, intervention, cost, COVID-19, domains, health, equality
Original languageEnglish
PublisherHealth and Care Research Wales
Commissioning bodyWelsh Government
Publication statusPublished - 15 Jan 2022
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