Gender Differentials in Times of COVID-19

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About this Research Topic

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Background

The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most severe economic crises since the Second World War. It affects the behavior of policymakers, firms, and individual households equally. Because of the health threat of the crisis, policymakers implemented measures, such as curfews, lockdowns, and health practices. Social sciences may provide valuable insights, as the success of these measures depends on individual behavior. In this respect, people’s preferences, their perception of the crisis, and their socioeconomics may be important factors. Social sciences emphasized overwhelming evidence of gender differences in behavior, which may play a crucial role in the observed outcomes in the Corona crisis.

This Research Topic deals with gender differentials and their consequences in times of the COVID-19 crisis. That is, we welcome studies on gender differences in the behavior during the crisis and the resulting outcomes, such as gender inequalities, caused by the crisis. We are open to research using gender as a simple categorical variable as well as research digging deeper into the social and political construction of gender. The Research Topic focuses on original research of theoretical, empirical, survey, and experimental studies. The focus is very interdisciplinary, i.e., we encourage submissions from behavioral economics, development economics, psychology, and health psychology,. and other related fields. Potential research questions for contributions are (but not limited to):

• The role of gender differences in preferences (e.g., competition, cooperation, risk, patience, etc.) on compliance behavior and/or health precautions;
• Gender differences in the perception of the crisis (media perception, behavior on social media, conspiracy theories, trust in the government);
• Gender differences in the maintenance of virtual networks;
• The impact of the crisis on (psychological) health of women and men;
• Gender Differences in happiness during the crisis;
• Gender economics of education (impact of homeschooling, homeschooling, the impact of the closing of universities, etc.);
• Gender differences in the impact of remote working (i.e., performance, psychological consequences, etc.);
• The impact of the crisis on the couple’s work division and childcare;
• The Impact of lockdowns on domestic violence and/or divorces;
• The impact of COVID-19 on gender inequality on labor market outcomes (gender gaps in payment, work hours, employment);
• How does the pandemic affect gender inequality in academia (e.g., career choices, publication success)?
• Gender Economics of COVID-19 in development countries (impact of preference differences on health precautions and on gender inequality, etc.);
• Gender differences in the acquisition of information about COVID-19;
• Gender differences on altruistic behavior in times of the pandemic (e.g., cooperation in public projects, neighborhood help, voluntary community service) Gender differences in political participation (e.g., voting behavior) during the crisis;
• Gender differences in social responsibility during COVID-19 (e.g., speeding, littering, criminal charges).

***Important Note: Abstracts are not mandatory for this Research Topic, and authors are encouraged to proceed with submitting their full manuscripts directly***

Keywords: COVID-19, Gender Differences, Preferences, Health Protection, Educational/Career Choices, Gender Inequality

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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