Gender roles and safety of women at home in the COVID-19 era: evidence from 101 countries

This study analyzes the impact of travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the safety of women at home, and on home production responsibilities. We use Google's community mobility reports to measure changes in travel patterns and Facebook's Survey on Gender Equality at Home to measure changes in home production and safety at home during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic for 101 countries. We uncover two key findings: first, travel restrictions increase the percentage of women who felt unsafe at home, and second, travel restrictions lead to a rise in home production for both sexes, with men bearing much of the increase. We discuss the implications of these results for policies to support women and girls during pandemics.