TY - JOUR
AU - Smith, Jessica C.
PY - 2022
DA - August
TI - Representation in times of crisis: Women’s executive presence and gender-sensitive policy responses to crises
JO - Journal of European Public Policy
DO - https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2022.2110142
AB - This paper shows how the gender composition of executive government impacts national responses to crises through the case study of the COVID-19 pandemic. Building on descriptive accounts of women’s underrepresentation in COVID-19 decision-making I consider the causes and consequences of their (non)presence. Using data from the UN COVID-19 Global Gender Response Tracker, I find that: (i) across 62 countries, women average 25 per cent of members of government taskforces responding to the crisis and are siloed into advisory as opposed to decision-making positions; and, (ii) Women leaders shape who is present in policy-making, and policy outcomes. Women-led countries, although limited in number, have higher proportions of women on taskforces, especially decision-making ones. A country being woman-led has a large, although non-significant, positive effect on whether a policy response is gender-sensitive, whilst a higher proportion of women on all taskforces combined has a significant, yet small, positive effect.
PB - Taylor and Francis
UR - https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/publications/f3a8738b-3e7d-4910-ae30-e5cf69693859
KW - Coronavirus (COVID-19)
ER