Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a health, economic, social, and gendered crisis. The traditional sexual distribution of labor has produced an overload of care work and housework as well as serious backward steps in employment for women due to the pandemic. This study identifies the measures of the Chilean government regarding care and gender during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and explores the experiences of possible beneficiaries of those measures through a systematic review of online media and interviews. The results show that the government’s priority has been the economy rather than care. A lack of existing public policies by which to respond to the pandemic created a scenario of improvisation, implementing a patchwork of focused measures rather than relying on universal benefits and strong gender equity policies to support vulnerable groups. Social care policies are urgently needed.