ABSTRACT
We investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted gender differences in employment and how this crisis differs from other crises. First, we analyze to which extent the Norwegian authorities’ handling of the pandemic was gender mainstreamed. Second, we study the consequences of the pandemic for gender equality in the Norwegian labor market, through an empirical comparison of the COVID-19 crisis and the global financial crisis in 2007–2009 and the oil price crisis in 2014–2016. We end with a discussion of short- and long-lasting effects on gender in relation to the COVID-19 crisis. We conclude that the combined resilience of the Norwegian economy and long tradition of gender equality-friendly welfare state policies served as a bulwark against the gender equality backlash caused by the pandemic, yet the lack of gender mainstreaming of policies demonstrates a significant weakness of Norwegian gender equality policy in practice.
