COVID‐19, Employment Disruptions, and the Gendering of Mental Health: Evidence from a Nationwide Survey During the First Wave of the Pandemic in India

ABSTRACT Objective We examine the effect of changes in the work status of men on the gendering of mental health in the empirical context of the strict national lockdown imposed in late March 2020 amidst the first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic in India. Methods We utilize a novel nationally representative cross‐sectional survey conducted in the second week of June 2020, after the national lockdown was officially revoked. Result We report three main findings. First, females, rather than males, were more likely to report that their mental health had worsened compared to the pre‐pandemic period. Second, the gender mental health gap was higher at higher levels of lockdown stringency. Third, the gender mental health gap was most likely to occur in households where the main income earner had been completely laid off, provided lockdown stringency was high; and least likely to occur in households where the main wage earner was working from home or not working from home without reduction in income, irrespective of the level of lockdown stringency; and moderately likely to occur for all work arrangements that involved partial job or income loss, provided lockdown stringency was high. Conclusion This study of the immediate aftermath of a strict lockdown has important implications for future pandemic management strategies, namely, that governments can contribute to better mental health overall during a pandemic by paying particular attention to the psychological challenges faced by women and how these may be graded by the level of lockdown stringency and lockdown‐induced changes in the work status of men. We also discuss possible directions for future research.