Family or firm? Why are the women the hardest hit by the pandemic economic crisis

One striking effect of the pandemic economic crisis is the disproportionate adverse impact on women. This paper explores the roots of the gender heterogenous effects, using two rich and new micro-level data bases. By formulating two hypotheses -the gender role and the sectorial composition hypothesis-we find that women are being severely affected by the current pandemic economic crisis both due to their traditional role as mothers and wives but also due to their prevalence in the hardest hit sectors such as accommodation and food services