The Sex, Gender and COVID-19 Project

Tracking differences in COVID-19 infection, illness and death among women and men and producing the world’s largest analysis of sex and gender in national COVID-19 health policies

The COVID-19 Sex-Disaggregated Data Tracker is the world’s largest database of sex-disaggregated data on COVID-19. It is accompanied by the Sex, Gender and COVID-19 Health Policy Portal, the most comprehensive analysis of the integration of sex and gender in national COVID-19 health policies. Together, the tracker and portal provide a rich source of evidence on the equity and effectiveness of national governments pandemic responses, and provide open-access data for policy makers, researchers and advocates across the globe to utilise in pushing for more equitable, gender-responsive pandemic recoveries.

The project is produced by Global Health 50/50, the African Population and Health Research Center and the International Center for Research on Women.

Read the latest trends, updates and key takeaways from the data in our monthly report
Explore our regional reports

We’re tracking the latest sex-disaggregated data on COVID-19 from across the globe.

Understanding the role sex and gender are playing in the covid-19 outbreak is essential to building an effective, equitable response to the pandemic. This tracker presents the sex-disaggregated data being reported by governments. Despite clear gender differences in COVID-19 health outcomes, not all governments are reporting data separately by women and men.

As of 15 September 2022
  • have reported data on cases and deaths in the past two months
  • have reported either case or death data in the past two months
  • no sex-disaggregated case or death data reported in the past two months
  • not yet tracked
Explore the data by country

Gender and sex are playing a crucial role in determining who is at risk of infection, severe illness and death from COVID-19.

Differences in women’s and men’s bodies due to their sex (biology) is playing a role in people’s risk of illness and death due to COVID-19. To attribute gender differences in COVID-19 outcomes solely to biology however ignores the role that social environments, structures and norms are playing, and obscures the actions that can be taken to address these drivers.

Further, sex-disaggregated COVID-19 data does not report or account for gender identity, therefore data are absent on the impact of COVID-19 on transgender and non-binary people. Some efforts are in place to redress this gap. Without this information, the specific health care needs of people with diverse gender identities cannot be identified, the health disparities they experience cannot be addressed, and important health care services may not be delivered.

Defining Sex and Gender

Sex

Refers to biological characteristics that determine risk and response to disease, for instance driving hormonal responses, immunological characteristics, and response to vaccines.
Source

Gender

The UN defines gender as what is expected, allowed and valued in a woman or a man in a given context. These attributes, opportunities and relationships are context/time-specific and changeable.
Source

The ‘gender binary’ however is increasingly being rejected in many places to recognise, respect and embrace diverse gender identities.
Source

Gender influences exposure to risk (air pollution, smoking, alcohol), likelihood of risk reduction (e.g. seeking health care), as well as who benefits from the resources available (e.g. who can access health services, or who is likely to be providing care). Health outcomes and health systems reflect and reinforce gender biases and restrictive gender norms, compromising the safety and wellbeing of providers and the health of communities. Gender and social inequalities (based on class, race or ethnicity, etc) intersect and multiply these negative effects on both the health system and the communities they serve.
Source

Globally, there’s no clear trend in terms of who is most likely to become infected by COVID-19. However, across the vast majority of countries, a clear pattern in mortality has emerged; men appear more likely than women to die from COVID-19 once infected. This pattern varies by country and may be changing over time.

Why do men appear to be at more risk of severe illness and death?

At the global level, what does the data show?

For every 10 female...
...Tests
Across 18 countries
 ...there are
 8
...there are 8 male Tests

male Tests
...Cases
Across 183 countries
 ...there are
 10
...there are 10 male Cases

male Cases
...Hospitalisations
Across 77 countries
 ...there are
 12
...there are 12 male Hospitalisations

male Hospitalisations
...ICU admissions
Across 20 countries
 ...there are
 17
...there are 17 male ICU admissions

male ICU admissions
...Deaths
Across 140 countries
 ...there are
 13
...there are 13 male Deaths

male Deaths
...Confirmed cases that have died
Across 129 countries
 ...there are
 15
...there are 15 male Confirmed cases that have died

male Confirmed cases that have died
...Vaccinations
Across 114 countries
 ...there are
 10
...there are 10 male Vaccinations

male Vaccinations
Explore the global data
Explore by country
Explore along the clinical pathway
Explore by other characteristics
Download the data set

Very few countries reported data on characteristics other than sex and age

The pandemic was not an “equal opportunities” event. Evidence since the beginning of the pandemic highlighted the impact of demographic characteristics on the distribution of risk, access to treatment, and outcomes (including severity of illness and risk of death). However, there is a dearth of data on how the pandemic affected different populations. We have examined the availability of data from 205 countries and built a repository of data that is disaggregated by sex, age, and other characteristics. Here is what we found.

Age People at higher risk Nationality Race or ethnicity People living with disability Socio-economic status or poverty status Pregnant and/or breastfeeding women Rural/urban Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) or Refugees
TOTAL countries reporting any data for this characteristic
84
16
8
5
5
4
4
4
0
Explore the repository

Our Health Policy Portal investigates how national governments are responding to this evidence in their COVID-19 health policies

Considering gender and equity in policy responses improves health outcomes for everyone.

The Sex, Gender and COVID-19 Health Policy Portal offers the most comprehensive review of the recognition of and response to sex and gender in national COVID-19 public health policies. Launched in the context of mounting calls for governments to adopt gender-responsive approaches to the pandemic, the Policy Portal finds little evidence that sex and gender have been considered in policies that directly impact people’s health outcomes.

Explore the data

“The Pandemic has finally opened our eyes to the fact that health is not driven just by biology, but by the social environment in which we all find ourselves and gender is a major part of that.”

Professor Sarah Hawkes
Co-Director of GH5050, in conversation with Common Thread

Our data powers research, advocacy and evidence-informed policy making.

Our COVID-19 Sex-Disaggregated Data Tracker offers the most comprehensive country-level reporting of sex-disaggregated data. It is used by researchers, media, UN organisations and advocates to inform our global understanding of who is at risk along the pathway of infection through to severe illness and death, as well as to encourage countries to prioritise reporting of sex-disaggregated data as part of their COVID-19 response.

Our COVID-19 Health Policy Portal provides the most comprehensive analysis of national COVID-19 health policies from a gender, equity and human rights lens globally as well as offering a repository of national policies across six key areas. Governments, decision-makers, researchers, advocates and funders are encouraged to explore the Policy Portal’s global index, country profiles and policy area-specific pages to compare policy approaches, promote knowledge sharing and push for gender-responsive policies moving forwards.

Use the data

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. If you use our data, we kindly request that you cite us using:

The COVID-19 Sex-Disaggregated Data Tracker
https://globalhealth5050.org/the-sex-gender-and-covid-19-project/

The Sex, Gender and COVID-19 Health Policy Portal
https://globalhealth5050.org/the-sex-gender-and-covid-19-project/policy-portal/

Here are just a few of the organisations and outlets using our Tracker

An Unsolved Mystery: Why Do More Men Die of Covid-19?
The New York Times - November 2
At least 65,000 more men than women have died from COVID-19 in the US
Brookings - October 19
COVID vaccine trials: Where are the women?
Deutsche Welle - July 12
‘Too good to be true’: Doubts swirl around trial that saw 77% reduction in COVID-19 mortality
Science - July 7
COVID-19 affects men and women differently. So why don’t clinical trials report gender data?
Science - July 6
Lipstick and COVID-19
Project Syndicate - July 5
India Is Still Short On Sex-Disaggregated COVID-19 Data
The Wire Science - May 28
Governments are ‘gender blind’ to Covid-19's greater impact on women, global studies say
France 24 - April 7
Recorded but not revealed: exploring the relationship between sex and gender, country income level, and COVID-19
The Lancet - April 6
Are Women The Fitter Sex?
Channel 4 - January 12
Covid-19 : le chaos dans les hôpitaux britanniques, un fiasco prévisible ?
France 24 - January 12
Data Gaps on Sex Differences in Covid19 Infections Could Hamper Treatment, Vaccination, Report Says
The Swaddle - December 18
Report shows slow progress on sex-disaggregated data
SciDev.Net - December 10
Gender and Covid-19 vaccines: Lack of data on gender differences could impact rollout
France 24 - December 4
‘Real men don’t wear masks’: The link between masculinity and face coverings
The Independent - October 22
Why the coronavirus is killing more men than women
The Washington Post - October 17
New COVID-19 Information Underscores How Much We've Learned About the Disease
Teen Vogue - October 7
Data shows fewer Afghan women than men get Covid-19. That’s bad news.
The New York Times - October 3
COVID Gender-Disaggregated Data Reveals Groups Being Left Behind in National Responses
Ms Magazine - October 1
The indirect impact of COVID-19 on women
The Lancet - August 1
Sexist and incomplete data hold back the world’s Covid-19 response
Melinda Gates, STAT - July 30
What’s Really Behind the Gender Gap in Covid-19 Deaths?
New York Times - June 24
Where The Women Aren’t: On Coronavirus Task Forces
NPR - June 24
An interview with Sarah Hawkes
Centre for feminist foreign policy - June 22
Gender and Covid: Counting the Uncounted
Common Thread - June 18
How female scientists are losing out during the pandemic and why it matters
CNN International - June 18
The Overlooked Disparity: Coronavirus Kills Mostly Men
Wall Street Journal - May 29
COVID-19 much more fatal for men, especially taking age into account
Brookings - May 15
The women fighting Covid-19: Pandemic highlights lack of female representation
France 24 - May 15
Coronavirus in Scotland: How does geography, sex, location, deprivation and age affect Covid-19 deaths?
The Press and Journal - May 13
Why Are More Men Than Women Dying Of COVID-19?
FiveThirtyEight - April 30
Researchers Study Why Men Seem To Be More Affected By COVID-19
NPR - April 23
COVID-19 susceptibility, women, and work
Vox.eu - April 23
“Gender and COVID-19″ Interview with Caroline Criado Perez and Sarah Hawkes
ABC News - April 21
Sex, gender and COVID-19, UK Research and Innovation
UKRI - April 17
Coronavirus Killing Men At Twice The Rate Of Women In England And Wales
Huffington Post - April 16
Coronavirus in Scotland: How does geography, gender, location and age affect Covid-19 deaths?
The Press and Journal - April 15
Gender and Covid
New York Times - April 14
Why Covid-19 is different for men and women
BBC Future - April 13
Why is Covid-19 killing so many more men than women?
The Daily Mail - April 11
Coronavirus: ecco perché le donne sono più immuni degli uomini
TPI - April 8
Por que o coronavírus está matando mais homens que mulheres?
BBC Brazil - April 8
Perché il virus colpisce di più gli uomini? Ecco tutte le ipotesi
Il Giornale - April 8
Why are more men dying from coronavirus than women?
BBC Outside Source - April 8
World Business Report
BBC World Service - April 7
Why are men more likely to die of coronavirus than women?
The Times - April 7
Coronavirus: Why are men twice as likely to die as women?
The Irish Times - April 7
Why does coronavirus seem to be killing more men than women?
Metro - April 5
No Gender Equality: Why COVID-19 Appears to Be Far More Deadly for Men Than Women
Sputnik News - April 4
Does Covid-19 Hit Women and Men Differently? U.S. Isn’t Keeping Track.
The New York Times - April 3
Coronavirus Seems to Be Infecting and Killing More Men Than Women
Wall Street Journal - April 2
More Men Than Women Have Died Of COVID-19. Why Do They Take It Less Seriously?
Huffington Post - April 2
Why is coronavirus killing more men than women?
Wired - April 1
Coronavirus: Why do more men die of Covid-19 than women?
France24 - March 31
Why do more men die than women from coronavirus?
TRT World - March 31
Supermarket stockpiling, A-level results and Covid-19 gender disparity.
BBC Radio 4 (More or Less) - March 31
Coronavirus: Why does COVID-19 pose a greater threat to men than women?
Sky News - March 31
Men are dying from the coronavirus at higher rates than women around the world. Here are scientists’ best ideas as to why.
Pulse Live Kenya - March 30
The gender question, the novel outbreak.
The China Current with James Chau - March 30
Coronavirus fact check: Are more men than women dying from COVID-19?
Kiro7 - March 30
In early stages of pandemic, CT coronavirus data in short supply.
NewsTimes - March 27
Men are much more likely to die from coronavirus – but why?
The Guardian - March 26
Are men more vulnerable to COVID-19?
Times of India - March 26
Why the coronavirus is killing more men than women.
BGR - March 25
Experts explain why COVID-19 appears more fatal in men than women.
News Ghana - March 25
Coronavirus Update: Here’s Why More Men Are Dying From COVID-19.
International Business Times - March 25
Bad diet, drinking and smoking could be why coronavirus more fatal to men than women, researchers say.
New York Daily News - March 25
A quarter of the world’s population in lockdown.
BBC Newshour - March 25
Here’s why the coronavirus may be killing more men than women. The US should take note.
CNN - March 24
Sex, gender and COVID-19: Disaggregated data and health disparities.
BMJ Global Health - March 24
Gender blind’ coronavirus policies could hinder disease fight
SciDev - March 16
Misaligned Priorities & Gender Inequalities Formed “Cracks” That Contributed To COVID-19 Pandemic.
Health Policy Watch - March 9
The consequences of a coronavirus task force made almost entirely of men.
The Lily - March 2

We’re pushing for more countries to collect and publicly report sex-disaggregated data.

We encourage you to join us in pushing policy-makers and health authorities to report sex-disaggregated data and design more gender-responsive COVID-19 approaches.

See our brief on why this data matters

If you think we’ve missed national sex-disaggregated data on COVID-19 in our tracker, please let us know at info@globalhealth5050.org.

Got questions?

Get in touch and send media requests to info@globalhealth5050.org

Support our work