At the G20 in Rome, it's time for a gender-responsive approach to COVID19

PPE will not be fit for women unless underlying gender inequities are tackled, say Roopa Dhatt and colleagues

When the story of the pandemic is written, will history record that women (as 70% of health and care workers and 90% of nurses) carried us through this global health emergency?

This viewpoint addresses the lack of gender diversity in medical leadership in Latin America and the gap in evidence on gender dimensions of the health workforce.

Gender equal leadership is absent from WHO's executive board, with women accounting for under 10% of the 34 members. We are shocked, outraged, and driven to demand a radical shift toward gender equality in global health governance.

Any limitations on the autonomy and mobility of women and girls will add a significant burden to an already strained healthcare system, write Laura Jung, Lilly Khorsand, Anita Afzali, Mariam Mariam Dahir, Mohammad Yasir Essar, and Roopa Dhatt

Without women, there are no health and care services. The moral and strategic imperative to address gender equality just got critical.

In 2015, practising physician Roopa Dhatt and her colleagues wangled their way into the World Health Assembly in Geneva, and counted how many of the chief delegates representing countries were women. It was 23%, despite women making up 70% of the global health and social workforce.

Personal protective equipment is often designed for men, and that is leaving female health workers further exposed to infection amid the pandemic, global health professionals say.

The authors note the disparity between leadership roles of men and women in global health and its effect on the response to COVID-19. The work of their organization Women in Global Health is described, including “launching a Gender Equal Health and Care Workforce Initiative in 2021 in partnership with the Government of France and World Health Organization, convening governments and international organizations to leverage commitments for safe and decent work, equal pay and an equal say in leadership for women in health and social care.”