While a considerable number of studies have documented the way the COVID-19 pandemic has accentuated gender inequalities, few studies have examined how elected representatives in democracies responded to these inequalities. Using discourse analysis in French-speaking Belgium (2019–2022), this article examines how elected representatives raised and framed the gendered effects of the pandemic. Three findings can be underlined. First, the pandemic constituted a window of opportunity for women MPs to raise gender concerns. Second, women MPs mostly politicized the consequences of successive lockdowns on multiple forms of violence against women. Third, the way women MPs framed gender issues in times of COVID-19 and their responses to them differed across ideological lines, with leftist MPs framing the problems and their solutions through more “feminist” lenses, by contrast to centre-right MPs using more “feminized” frames.
Agmon-GonnenM (2023) Women and COVID-19: A Gender Perspective on the Socio-economic Crisis and the Opportunities for Change. LSE Legal Studies Working Paper no. 18, 31 March 2023. DOI: 10.1016/j.tjog.2020.09.004.
2.
AldrichASLotitoNJ (2020) Pandemic Performance: Women Leaders in the COVID-19 Crisis. Politics Gender16 (4): 960–967.
3.
AminudinR (2023) Analysis of Government’s Policies on Gender Issues During COVID-19. In: ShukriS (ed.) Pandemic, Politics, and a Fairer Society in Southeast Asia: A Malaysian Perspective (Diverse Perspectives on Creating a Fairer Society). Leeds: Emerald Publishing, pp.177–190.
4.
BélandDHowlettM (2016) The Role and Impact of the Multiple-Streams Approach in Comparative Policy Analysis. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice18 (3): 221–227.
5.
BenfordRDSnowDA (2000) Framing Processes and Social Movements: An Overview and Assessment. Annual Review of Sociology26 (2000): 611–639.
Borrescio-HigaFValenzuelaP (2021) Gender Inequality and Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Public Health66: 1604220.
8.
BursensPPopelierPMeierP (2021) Belgium’s Response to COVID-19. How to Manage a Pandemic in a Competitive Federal System? In: ChattopadhyayRKnüplingFChebenovaDet al. (eds) Federalism and the Response to COVID-19. A Comparative Analysis. London: Routledge, pp.39–48.
9.
CarrollSJ (ed.) (2001) The Impact of Women in Public Office. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
10.
CasteloSAntunesLAshrafuzzamanM (2024) The Impact of the Climate Crisis on Gender Inequality. Looking to the Frontlines in Search of Priorities for Policy. Frontiers in Sustainable Cities6: 1304535.
11.
CastilloMChan-TayoMCCelestinoAB, et al. (2022) Gender Issues and Public Health Crisis Management: Philippine Local Governments’ Response to Covid-19. SSRN. Available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4041255 or https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4041255
12.
CatalanoA (2009) Women Acting for Women? An Analysis of Gender and Debate Participation in the British House of Commons 2005-2007. Politics & Gender5: 45–68.
13.
CederquistJ (2021) Are the Interests of Women Included in Times of Crisis? A Comparative Study of the Substantive Representation of Women during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Southern African Region. Master Thesis, Department of Government, Uppsala University, Uppsala.
14.
CelisKChildsS (2012) Thesubstantive representation of women: What to do with conservative claims?Political Studies60 (1): 213–225.
15.
CelisKChildsS (2020) Feminist Democratic Representation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
16.
CelisKChildsSKantolaJ, et al. (2014) Constituting Women’s Interests Through Representative Claims. Politics & Gender10 (2014): 149–174.
17.
CeronMZarraA (2021) Women’s Substantive Representation in the Covid-19 Reconstruction. The Case of the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Italian Political Science16 (2): 74–99.
18.
ChildsSKrookML (2006) Should Feminists Give Up on Critical Mass? A Contingent Yes. Politics & Gender2 (4): 522–530.
19.
ChildsSPalmieriS (2020) A Primer for Parliamentary Action. Gender Sensitive Responses to COVID-19. New York: UN Women.
20.
ClarkSMcGraneABoyleN, et al. (2021) “You’re a Teacher You’re a Mother, You’re a Worker”: Gender Inequality during COVID-19 in Ireland. Gender Work Organ28: 1352–1362.
21.
CullenPMurphyMP (2021) Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis in Ireland: From Feminized to Feminist. Gender, Work & Organization28: 348–365.
22.
CzymaraCSLangenkampACanoT (2021) Cause for Concerns: Gender Inequality in Experiencing the COVID-19 Lockdown in Germany. European Societies23 (Suppl. 1): S68–S81.
23.
DahlerupD (1988) From a Small to a Large Minority: Women in Scandinavian Politics. Scandinavian Political Studies11 (4): 275–297.
24.
DangH-AHNguyenCV (2021) Gender Inequality during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Income, Expenditure, Savings, and Job Loss. World Development140: 105296.
25.
Davidson-SchmichLKJalalzaiFOchM (2023) Crisis, gender role congruency, and perceptions of executive leadership. Politics & Gender19 (3): 900–907.
26.
DeswertC (2021) The Praise for a “Caretaker” Leader: Gendered Press Coverage of Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès in a COVID-19 Context. Politics of the Low Countries3 (2): 186–204.
27.
DevroeRErzeelSMeierP, et al. (2021) The Long-Term Effects of Gender Quotas in Belgium: Leading by Example? In:CaluwaertsDReuchampsM (eds) Belgian Exceptionalism. Belgian Politics between Realism and Surrealism. London: Routledge, pp.27–43.
28.
Dimitrova-GrajzlVGornickJObasanjoI (2022) Leader Gender, Country Culture, and the Management of COVID-19. World Med. & Health Policy14: 773–797.
29.
ElomäkiA (2023) “It’s a Total No-No”: The Strategic Silence about Gender in the European Parliament’s Economic Governance Policies. International Political Science Review44 (3): 403–417.
30.
ElomäkiAKantolaJ (2023) Feminist Governance in the European Parliament: The Political Struggle Over the Inclusion of Gender in the EU’s COVID-19 Response. Politics & Gender19 (2): 327–348.
31.
EnarsonE (1998) Through Women’s Eyes: A Gendered Research Agenda for Disaster Social Science. Disasters22 (2): 157–173.
32.
ErzeelSCelisK (2016) Political Parties, Ideology and the Substantive Representation of Women. Party Politics22 (5): 576–586.
33.
European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) (2021) Gender Inequalities in Care and Consequences for the Labour Market. Vilnius, Lithuania: European Institute for Gender Equality.
34.
FarréLFawazYGonzálezL, et al. (2022) Gender Inequality in Paid and Unpaid Work During Covid-19 Times. Review of Income and Wealth68 (2): 293–591.
35.
FisherANRyanMK (2021) Gender Inequalities during COVID-19. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations24 (2): 237–245.
36.
HoogheLMarksG (2018) Cleavage Theory Meets Europe’s Crises: Lipset, Rokkan, and the Transnational Cleavage. Journal of European Public Policy25 (1): 109–135.
JohnsonCWilliamsB (2020) Gender and Political Leadership in a Time of COVID. Politics & Gender17 (4): 943–950.
39.
KantolaJ (2018) Gender and the Economic Crisis: Political Parties as Sites of Feminist Struggles. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society25 (3): 361–382.
40.
KantolaJLombardoE (eds) (2017) Gender and the Economic Crisis in Europe Politics, Institutions and Intersectionality. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
41.
KellyL (2021) Direct and Indirect Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Women and Girls (K4D Helpdesk Report). Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies.
42.
KingdonJW (1984) Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policies. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company.
43.
KoutsougerasIPilloyARoelandtsM (2026) Chapitre 8. Les partis à l’épreuve de la parité: entre contraintes structurelles et pratiques d’inclusion. In: CloseCGeshefSBottinJ, et al (eds) Les élections locales du 13 octobre 2024 en Wallonie et à Bruxelles. Louvain-la-Neuve: Presses Universitaires de Louvain, pp.171–188.
44.
O’DwyerM (2022) Gender and Crises in European Economic Governance: Is This Time Different?JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies60: 152–169.
45.
O’BrienDZPiscopoJM (2023) Gender and Political Representation in Times of Crisis. Politics & Gender19 (3): 891–899.
46.
OchM (2019) Conservative Feminists? An Exploration of Feminist Arguments in Parliamentary Debates of the Bundestag. Parliamentary Affairs72: 353–378.
47.
OECD (2023) Evaluation of Belgium’s COVID-19 Responses: Fostering Trust for a More Resilient Society. Paris: OECD Publishing.
48.
PalmieriSChildsS (2020) Patience, Ladies: Gender-Sensitive Parliamentary Responses in a Time of Crisis. European Journal of Law Reform22 (4): 468–483.
49.
PiqueroARJenningsWGJemisonE, et al. (2021) Domestic Violence During the COVID–19 Pandemic – Evidence from a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Journal of Criminal Justice74: 101806.
50.
PiscopoJMOchM (2021) Protecting Public Health in Adverse Circumstances: Subnational Women Leaders and Feminist Policymaking during COVID-19. Gender & Development29 (2–3): 547–568.
51.
PopelierP (2020) COVID-19 Legislation in Belgium at the Crossroads of a Political and a Health Crisis. The Theory and Practice of Legislation8 (1–2): 131–153.
52.
ReicheltMMakoviKSargsyanA (2021) The Impact of COVID-19 on Gender Inequality in the Labor Market and Gender-Role Attitudes. European Societies23 (Suppl. 1): S228–S245.
53.
RiegerABlackburnAMBystrynskiJB, et al. (2022) The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Gender-Based Violence in the United States: Framework and Policy Recommendations. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy14 (3): 471–479.
54.
Robaye KeschE (2025) Anatomie d’une invisibilisation: une analyse genrée de la gestion de crise du covid-19 en Belgique. Master Thesis, Faculté de Philosophie et Sciences sociales, Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels.
55.
Rodriguez-JimenezRFares-OteroNEGarcía-FernándezL (2023) Gender-Based Violence during COVID-19 Outbreak in Spain. Psychological Medicine53 (1): 299–300.
56.
StrolovitchDZ (2013) Of Mancessions and Hecoveries: Race, Gender, and the Political Construction of Economic Crises and Recoveries. Perspectives on Politics11 (1): 167–176.
57.
ThomasS (1994) How Women Legislate. New York: Oxford University Press.
VandeleeneA (2014) Gender Quotas and ‘Women-Friendly’ candidate Selection: Evidence from Belgium. Representation50 (3): 337–349.
60.
VerlooMLombardoE (2007) Contested gender equality and policy variety in Europe: Introducing a critical frame analysis approach. In: VerlooM (ed) Multiple Meanings of Gender. A Critical Frame Analysis of Gender Policies in Europe Equality. Budapest, New York: Central European University Press, pp. 21–51.
61.
WaylenG (2021) Gendering Political Leadership: Hypermasculine Leadership and Covid-19. Journal of European Public Policy28 (8): 1153–1173.
62.
WenhamCSmithJMorganR (2020) COVID-19: The Gendered Impacts of the Outbreak. The Lancet395 (10227): 846–848.
63.
WindsorLCYannitell ReinhardtGWindsorAJ, et al. (2020) Gender in the Time of COVID-19: Evaluating National Leadership and COVID-19 Fatalities. PLoS ONE15 (12): e0244531.
64.
ZamberlanAGioachinFGrittiD (2021) Work Less, Help Out More? The Persistence of Gender Inequality in Housework and Childcare during UK COVID-19. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility73: 100583.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
