Gendered Immigrant Experiences during COVID-19 in Canada

Abstract

This article examines the experiences of immigrant women and men from Ukraine during COVID-19 pandemic in
Canada. Previous research has documented consistent gender differences in healthcare in general and in COVID-19
experiences in particular. However, no prior studies have directly compared the COVID-19 experiences of immigrant women
and men within a single immigrant group, which is the focus of the present study. The study addresses two research
questions: (1) Did COVID-19 experiences by immigrants from Ukraine in Canada differ by gender? and (2) What patterns of
COVID-19 information access did immigrant women and men from Ukraine in Canada report, and did these patterns differ
by gender? The study is based on a survey that included 51 women and 24 men. Quantitative analysis of the survey
responses shows that women reported greater disruption of daily life due to COVID-19 and stronger fear that loved ones would
contract the disease. By contrast, the types of COVID-19–related information sought during the pandemic did not differ
significantly by gender. These findings have direct implications for healthcare, infectious-disease control, and massmedia
communication, highlighting the need for gender-specific approaches to information access and for genderdisaggregated
data to guide public-health messaging.